Black VoicesPolice Brutalitypolice violencepolice shootings

Taye Diggs' Heartbreaking Poem Confronts The Effects Of Police Violence On Children

So powerful.
Brennan Williams
By 

Pop Culture Editor, HuffPost

Taye Diggs has added his name to the growing list of celebrities speaking out against police violence.
Taye Diggs has added his name to the growing list of celebrities speaking out against police violence.
CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images

Taye Diggs has added his name to the growing list of famous black parents speaking out against police violence. For his part, Diggs posted a powerful poem about the fear and confusion many young children feel in the wake of police shootings that appear on the evening news with devastating frequency.

The poem, which was posted on the actor’s Instagram on Saturday, is told from the perspective of a young boy who finds his two parents reacting to a television clip of a police officer fatally shooting a black man.

Im finished brushing my teeth I'm coming down the stairs I'm ready for my bedtime story Does anybody care ------------------------------------------ I'm standing in my P. J.s My bunny slippers on But Ma and Pa are watching tv I think something's wrong ------------------------------------------- Why is mommy crying Pa She's pointing at the screen It's like she knows them people People I never seen -------------------------------------------- And why does daddy look so mad Mommy do you know He keeps on rubbing the side of his head And walking to and fro ------------------------------------------- What is this tv show ----------------------------------------- And now I start to feel real weird My insides getting heavy I yell at mommy one more time Daddy Are you forgetting ---------------------------------------- Mama slowly turns to me Her face fighting the tear She cut the tv off right quick She kneels and pulls me near ---------------------------------------- Why is daddy leaving the room Why did he slam the door Mommy searches for her words In the matted carpeted floor ---------------------------------------- Honey something very bad happened We didn't want you to see But we just saw a man get shot Right on our colored tv ------------------------------------- Why would someone shoot that man You both said guns were not good Did the man steal or rob someone Was he not doing what he should --------------------------------------- Then I feel my mama's anger The straight stiff of her back No she hissed through her teeth Police shot him cuz he was black ---------------------------------------- I tilt my head with question As Daddy enters still blue But my skins dark just like the Man's Does that mean I'll die too? ----------------------------------------- Ma and pa stare at each other Blank scared looks on the front of their heads Neither of them could say a word As I imagine myself....... Dead.

A photo posted by Taye Diggs (@tayediggsinsta) on

Addressing social issues from a child’s perspective isn’t new for Diggs. To date, the actor has published two children books, Chocolate Me which highlights the experiences of biracial children, and Mixed Me!, which was inspired by some of Diggs’ “tough” experiences growing up with his biracial cousin, according to a October 2015 with the “TODAY Show.”

“I wrote it from my childhood, because I didn’t have anything like this to refer to when I was a kid,” Diggs said during the interview of the development of Mixed Me.

“Luckily, a lot of the kids today are in classes and schools that are a little bit more diverse. But that doesn’t mean that these still issues don’t need to be looked at and acknowledged,” he added.

Before You Go

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