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00:00Hey everyone, as we mobilize against injustice all over this nation and world, we are going
00:14to have an important conversation with three women, mothers, who lost their child in cases
00:23that have galvanized our communities and galvanized the movement. And I'm honored to have this
00:30conversation with them. I've worked with these three cases, some very closely, and I think
00:38it is important we talk to them as mothers, women, because that has been the bedrock of
00:45this movement. We have Sabrina Fulton, who is the mother of Trayvon Martin, who would
00:51be killed by a wannabe police officer, a wannabe security guard, in 2012. We have with us
01:02Ms. Bell, who is the mother of Sean Bell, and Valerie lost her son to a New York City policeman.
01:13We have, of course, Wanda Jones, whose son was killed while jogging by three white males in
01:23Brunswick, Georgia. And this was a case that ignited the country about a few days, if not
01:33a couple of weeks before the George Floyd killing. And our conversation is to give you a sense
01:40of the strength and backbone of the movement always started with mothers. Never forget that Rosa Parks,
01:48sitting down, was what launched the Civil Rights Movement. These mothers standing up is what's
01:55launched this movement today. And let us not get lost in the fact that they seek justice, not just
02:03movement. Let me start by saying that thank you all for being with us and sharing with the world your
02:11feelings as mothers. That's what Essence is about. That is what we are saluting this weekend of the
02:1850th anniversary. Sabrina, tell us about your relationship with Trayvon as a mother. We know Trayvon
02:27as the person that was a symbol of our mobilizing millions, but you knew him as your son. And what
02:35did this case and his killing mean to you? Thank you for having me, Rel. But Trayvon was my baby. He is
02:47the youngest of two boys and he was very affectionate. He was very family oriented. He ate a quite,
02:56he ate a lot, but he didn't gain a lot of weight. He has just started getting into girls who wanted
03:04to smell good. He wanted to look good. He always wanted his hair cut. I used to tell him, you just
03:12think so cute. And he say, I am. And he was, um, you know, he, he didn't, it didn't matter where he
03:19saw me at. He would just come over and give me a hug. It didn't matter if it was at the park. It could
03:24have been in the middle of the street. He didn't care. You know, he's just that compassionate. He was
03:29just that loving, you know, and, um, I do miss him a great deal, but I tell people all the time,
03:35it took my son being shot down in order for me to stand up. Ms. Bell, you lost Sean on his wedding
03:44night. He had gone to a bachelor party with his father and became a victim of police misconduct
03:52that the police were acquitted. But thousands rose up in New York and around the country.
03:58Many of us even went to jail protesting what happened to Sean. But give us what Sean meant to you
04:04and the night that he was going to be married the next day. What that made you feel like?
04:11Well, Sean meant a lot to not only me, but his family, the middle one, the son that my oldest
04:18sister would say he had an old soul, but he was the one who looked out for everyone within his family,
04:24within the streets. He was ready to do the right thing, bringing us, giving us two lovely girls right
04:31now, 117 and 114. A lot of mothers weren't able to have that. And I always said Sean's death gave
04:38me life because I was a woman who just stayed home, did what I had to do for the family.
04:43He was one that loved everybody, just like Trayvon Martin. He loved everybody. He loved having fun with
04:48his friends. And on that night, wow, early in the a.m. morning was when it happened, the morning of his
04:55wedding day. That's a party that a lot of guys always have, not thinking anything of this would
05:01happen, getting a call. It was an accident. I'm thinking, okay, a car accident. But that day,
05:07like I said, I'm not the same. I'm a woman with a voice, continually will have a voice for not only
05:16Sean, but other mothers and families that I know who lost loved ones in police brutality. So like I said,
05:23for his death, gave me life, to have a voice continually.
05:29Wanda Jones, Ahmed was killed. We saw it on videotape. But this was your son. You brought him
05:37in the world. And one of the striking things, when I talk to you on our television show, and when I
05:46have seen you through with your lawyers, you seem to have this almost regal bearing that you have been
05:54able to personify the pain that Black mothers feel. But inside of that must be the pain of losing your
06:03son less than two months ago. Tell us about Ahmed, and tell us about how you've had to be able to deal
06:12with this loss at the same time, have become a national symbol of people that want to stand up
06:18for justice for your son. Okay, thank you for having me. Ahmed again was the baby of the family.
06:26Ahmed had an older sister, older brother. Ahmed was my baby. He was the baby of the bunch. Me and Ahmed
06:36had a very, very special bond. Ahmed was the kid that came up and gave me a kiss on the cheek and
06:43the other kids would say, oh, that's gross. Ahmed didn't care. Ahmed was the kid that he loved and
06:50he didn't care who knew that he loved. As I lost Ahmed back in February,
06:57I mean, I haven't come to grips that Ahmed's not coming back. I think I'm still in the numb stage
07:05that eventually he'll show up after I run. And I often have to sit down and prepare myself that Ahmed is
07:13never coming back. Early in the case, back in early March, I wasn't getting any help from the local
07:20authorities, the DA's. And at that point, I knew I had to stand up and fight. Because now that I look
07:28back on it, if I hadn't stood up and fought the way I fought the good fight, the case would have been a
07:33close case. So it's been life changing. I haven't really got a chance to sit down and actually grieve
07:43because I'm having to fight. And I knew, and I know if Ahmad, if the tails was turned and it was me
07:52and Ahmad had to fight, he would fight just as hard as I am. Thank you. Let me go to the next question.
07:59We're virtual, so there may have been some connection interference, but let's continue this
08:05very important conversation. Ms. Bell, as you sat in that courtroom and I was there many days watching
08:11as people for the defense, the defense lawyers for the policemen, would try and mischaracterize
08:20your son, saying he was a bad black and two of the cops were good black. And it had to rip you
08:28inside to see that they would go that far. In New York, you can waive a jury, so this was all in front
08:34of a judge. And you're watching them distort your son. Explain how you sat there and had to bear that
08:42and what gave you the strength to do that. Like I said, to bear it was unbearable. The strength of
08:48the Lord, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that's what I carry each and every day. Like Ms. Aubrey said,
08:55she didn't have time to mourn. It has been 14 years for me. I have not mourned because I keep moving,
08:59but being in court for eight weeks was horrific. Just hearing the defense attorney, Badger, the
09:07witnesses who were there to be a help for my, you know, for speaking for Sean, it was unbelievable.
09:14The defense attorney would say something, me not being the lawyer, and I'm saying to my consultant
09:19lawyer, shouldn't they be saying object, object? It was really crazy. The judge sitting there,
09:24at one time I thought, okay, he's going to be on our side. But April 25th, that day when he was not
09:30guilty, I'd never been the same. November 25th, 2006, I haven't been the same. Just sitting there,
09:39I do not wish that on anyone because it's heart-wrenching. But as a mother, as a family,
09:45standing there for your child, you have to be there. That's the only thing that kept my sanity,
09:50is just praying and having the community be behind me, even though there's so many people
09:56out during the time. But when the cameras are gone, it's just you and your family. But you still have
10:02to go on. Right. You still have to go on. Wanda, you've had to fight to even get the case out there.
10:11Then you've got attorneys leave married and others, and some of us were contacted by them. And you went
10:18overnight from just a mother trying to get her to almost a celebrity, something you never asked for.
10:26And you're reluctant now even to try to be a public figure. But you're fighting for your son,
10:33and you're learning and adapting to doing things like interviews and talk, because deep down inside,
10:40you're fighting for your son. You're not really concerned about if anyone knows who Wanda Jones is,
10:45but you want justice for your son. And that's what motivates you. I chose to be a civil rights
10:51leader. You didn't choose to be the mother of a victim. Explain how sometimes God puts you in positions
10:58that you just have to adjust for the greater good. But this is not something you desired,
11:04or that you in any way want to be some public figure, but you have to fight for your child.
11:10Yes. And that's completely true. I went from just being Ahmaud's mom to being a fighter for Ahmaud.
11:23It's different. I was put in this position. I wasn't prepared for it. I didn't take any classes for it.
11:32And so sometimes I think I'm just lost because sometimes I don't know what to do. But I know what
11:39I need to do. And what I have to continue to do is fight and let people know about Ahmaud. And that's
11:45what keeps me going. These interviews is something that I've never done before. Not accustomed to,
11:53but at the same time, I know that I must continue because this is all for Ahmaud.
11:58Sabrina, one of the things that I watched over the years since Trayvon became the impetus or even the
12:09hashtag Black Lives Matter and so many other movements is that you always would say, Rev, make
12:17them operate in a way that they didn't take away the dignity of Trayvon and dignity of the family.
12:25Talk about how you want people to raise the issues of justice for Trayvon or Sean Bell,
12:30for Ahmaud, but don't get in a way that would distort to the public that these were not violent
12:37kids and kids that were doing wrong, that they represented something good. And sometimes the
12:44protesters have to reflect the goodness so that a jury won't get the wrong impression of the victim.
12:50Right. What we have to do is lead by example. And so I don't think anybody hurts more than the
13:00parents of, more than the mother of or the father of. Nobody hurts more than us when it comes to our
13:06children. But you don't see us, you know, burning down buildings and, you know, challenging the police on
13:14the street and, you know, just, you know, throwing rocks and different things like that. You don't
13:20see us doing things because there is a position for everybody. We all have to do our part. And this
13:26is our part. Our part is making sure that our child did not lose their life in vain and that we are
13:34progressively making changes to see a difference in this society. We didn't get this way overnight,
13:41and we know we're not going to get out of this predicament that we're in overnight. But at least
13:47there is some type of movement. And for that, we are hopeful. Every time we see one of these cases,
13:54it breaks our heart. It really does. And you go through and you relive your situation all over again.
14:02And that people don't understand that. We live it all over again. But the strength that we have
14:08as women keeps us going. The strength that we have just knowing that I'm not alone and that I'm
14:13connected to other strong women keeps us going. Valerie, your religious conviction, you would always tell me,
14:26is what kept you strong. Mr. Williams, who was your pastor, who is now deceased, and others stood with
14:34you, your husband, your family, looking out for your grandchildren. These are personal things that media
14:42never covers. What gives you the internal strength to go on? Because it had to be times you didn't want to
14:50get up and go to that courtroom, but something made you have enabled you with the strength to go
14:57forward. Talk about that a little. Well, like I said, you already said is believing, but also
15:03knowing the life that my son lived, knowing the life that he wanted to be a baseball player, knowing
15:09the life that he wanted to be an electrician. I think of those things. So that's what also helps me to
15:14keep pressing on to let the people know about Sean's life, not about the 50 shots. You can read about it.
15:22I really don't speak about the 50 shots because everybody knows about the 50 shots. I'd like to
15:27continue to speak about the life he would have lived if he was still living. Of course, on the day of
15:34his bachelor party, he received a phone call from the Dodgers. On that year, in August, he passed the
15:42apprenticeship for local three to be electrician. So I like to focus on his life, to think of his life,
15:49to think of what a good man he would have been. Not saying he was perfect. No man is perfect. He had
15:54his floors like we all have our floors, but just thinking of Sean Elijah Bell, of what he would have
16:00been if he was still here on earth. Let me ask you, Wanda, as you now going through the first steps
16:11toward a trial for these that killed your son. I think it was just said that by Sabrina, no one hurts
16:22more than the mother, father, the family, and you having bared the child. Yet you don't seem like you
16:30want revenge, just justice. You don't seem like you are full of hate, but more motivated by the love for
16:38your son. What can you say is the reason you can operate above the revenge hate feeling and just
16:47operating and present such a real strong and regal presence that we get even before you open your
16:54mouth is just a bearing that you have. Where does that come from? I pray a lot. I've always prayed.
17:03I have great faith. I knew when this happened to Ahmad back in February that God will make it better.
17:12I would tell my siblings, we went weeks without counsel, and they would ask me, you know, we don't
17:20have anybody to represent us. And I always tell them that God will provide. He has always provided.
17:28And I have never presented God with a problem, with a thing that he has not worked out. And I knew that
17:37he would work this out for me in the death of Ahmad. I knew he would, and that's what I stood on.
17:43And as far as not displaying hate, I don't have the energy to put into it. You know, I mean, my energy
17:50levels is not what it used to be. And I have to put my energy into what really matters, and that's into the
17:56fight for justice for Ahmad. Let me ask you all a last question.
18:02Sabrina, 100 years from now, history books write about Trayvon Martin and how it began
18:11the social change of this country. How do you want Trayvon and you and the family to be remembered in history?
18:20I want people to remember the ugliness of what happened with Trayvon, that he was an unarmed 17
18:28year old. I want people to remember that the person that shot and killed him was a 28 year old
18:34grown man with a loaded gun and hate in his mind and hate in his heart. I want people to know that
18:40America sent a clear message that it's okay to kill an African American teenager and nobody's held
18:50accountable. I want people to know that through the Trayvon Martin Foundation, which still would be
18:55around, that we are making a difference in this community. We're making a difference on a global
19:01level, on a national level, because we want people to know the importance of gun violence and how it
19:07affects not only the person that shot and killed, but their entire family, their friends, students,
19:13the community, and how the United States came together at one particular point and decided this
19:20needs to stop. Wow.
19:22Valerie, how do you want history to record Sean Bell and the family?
19:28To remember Sean Bell as a young man who was ready to make a step and change in his life to be
19:34a married man to the woman he, you know, bore two children with, to remember him of the life he lived
19:42that I will speak about soon so they can remember him for Sean, not the 50 shots, to remember the things
19:49that we fight for as a mother, as a family, to make change in history as far as the laws. Just to remember
19:56him as a young man who he didn't hate anyone and not to focus on, even though we think of the police
20:04officers that killed him, but I know they have a conscience. I know that they are thinking of the
20:09bad things that they have done. So just to remember my son and the good things in his life, being 23 years
20:16old, doing a lot, living life to the fullest, having an old soul, helping friends when when it was needed.
20:23I want them to remember Sean, not to remember the 50 shots.
20:28And Wanda, how do you hope history will record Ahmaud Arbery and the family?
20:34Ahmaud Arbery was just not a jogger. He was my baby. He wasn't just someone who went out for a jog.
20:45When Ahmaud was killed, Ahmaud expected to return back home and he was taken away. Ahmaud was love.
20:56I didn't see the video, but I was told that Ahmaud left his world fighting. Ahmaud was a fighter.
21:03And I asked his mom, I will continue to fight because he would do the same for myself.
21:11Let me say, when I met with Sabrina and Tracy, Trayvon Martin's parents, and we pledged to do a
21:20national march. The morning I got on the plane to head to Florida for that march, I got news
21:25news that my mother had passed. And everyone said that they would understand if you went back home
21:33to prepare for your mother's funeral. I went anyway. Sabrina, Tracy was surprised I came to Florida
21:40that day. I came because of my mother. A single mother that scrubbed floor. So I'd have a jacket to
21:51wear to church on Sunday. The strength of black women is why I want to talk to these mothers today.
21:57Because if it wasn't for a single black mother, I would not have been able to survive. We owe it to
22:06our black women to live up and be what they expect us to be. These mothers lost their son. And for that,
22:14that is standing up for your son, my son, and daughter. And don't ever do anything to desecrate
22:22the strength of strong black women like these three that we talked to this morning. Thank you, and God bless you.
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