There is a reason that many African Americans have a healthy mistrust for law enforcement. We don't always feel protected or served by that particular institution.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the historical and ongoing distrust some African Americans have toward law enforcement due to negative experiences.
Sterling K. Brown's quote highlights the significant and complex relationship between African Americans and law enforcement. It speaks to a historical context of mistrust rooted in systemic issues, discrimination, and instances where the police have not fulfilled their role as protectors for all communities, leading to a widespread feeling of vulnerability rather than safety in interactions with the police.
In practice
During discussions about community safety at town meetings.
Life has to be everything. It can't be all sad. It can't be all peaches and cream. Because the lows have you appreciate the highs. And the highs give you perspective on the lows. If it's not everything, it becomes flat or mundane.
I have a certain memory of the way in which my father loved me until I was 10, and it was unconditional and eternal. I get to carry that for the rest of my life, but on a practical level after age 10, it's just me sort of figuring it out.
We're all trying to figure out what's next, what's best for our families, what's best for ourselves, and there's a certain sort of comfort in knowing that you're not in it by yourself.
The humanity that is given to other people isn't given to us. There is an expendability that comes along with being African American.
There's a time when it was an event for a black person to be on television. Where black households would gather around, 'Oh, you know, Sammy Davis is going to be on 'All in the Family' tonight! Let's go check it out!' It was a big, big thing.
It would be really cool to have my dad here to witness this, to see his grandchildren, to see this woman that I chose to share my life with, to just come walk on set and be like, 'Ah, this is how you make TV shows and movies.'
It can be the best of relationships and the worst of relationships - often at the same time. The bond between a mother and daughter is one of the strongest, but it's also among the most complicated.
Perhaps the depth of love can be calibrated by the number of different selves that are actively involved in a given relationship.
When you say, 'I'm sorry,' you turn people into your allies, even your partners.
You see, women are like fires, like flames. Some women are like candles, bright and friendly. Some are like single sparks, or embers, like fireflies for chasing on summer nights. Some are like campfires, all light and heat for a night and willing to be left after. Some women are like hearthfires, not much to look at but underneath they are all warm red coal that burns a long, long while.
It is he who has broken the bond of marriage - not I. I only break its bondage.
When you are in the final days of your life, what will you want? Will you hug that college degree in the walnut frame? Will you ask to be carried to the garage so you can sit in your car? Will you find comfort in rereading your financial statement? Of course not. What will matter then will be people. If relationships will matter most then, shouldn't they matter most now?
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