My dad was in prison throughout my childhood. I navigated a white world alonePosted in Articles, Family/Parenting, Media Archive, Social Justice, United States on 2020-06-13 22:34Z by Steven |
My dad was in prison throughout my childhood. I navigated a white world alone
The Guardian
2020-06-10
Whitney Bradshaw
Portland, Oregon
 Collage of family photos from Whitney Bradshaw. Photograph: Courtesy Whitney Bradshaw |
Three days after my third birthday, my father was arrested for armed robbery and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Starting around age five, whenever I saw a shooting star, I’d make a wish that my dad could come home. Eventually, that wish became “I wish he could be released for just one day”. As I grew, I stopped wishing.
Fast-forward to last week. More than 20 years later, for the first time in my life, I was happy my dad is in prison. Because he’s safer as an inmate than as a free black body walking the streets…
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