The Mothers

by Brit Bennett

Black boys couldn’t afford to be reckless, she had tried to tell him. Reckless white boys became politicians and bankers, reckless black boys became dead.

In a way, subtle racism was worse because it made you feel crazy. You were always left wondering, was that actually racist? Had you just imagined it?

Poorness never left you, she told him. It was a hunger that embedded itself into your bones. It starved you, even when you were full.

It’s okay to not be a big man. It’s enough to be a good one.”