Blake Moore: “Thank you so much, Mr. Horsford. I would first like to join my colleagues in grieving and celebrating the life of…”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Horsford. I would first like to join my colleagues in grieving and celebrating the life of Michael Brown. I would hope that his short life will not have been lived in vain, that his death will teach us something that will serve the Nation, so that others will not have to endure this. I am particularly feeling empathy with Ms. McFadden. Ms. McFadden is the mother. As the mother of two Black male children, Mr. Horsford, it has been a constant terror in my life that I would experience what Ms. McFadden has experienced. After Ferguson, I watched an episode of a comedy, ``Girlfriends,'' and a young Black mother was chastising her son for being arrested. She mentioned that she didn't appreciate having to come down to the police station to pick him up. They had just recently moved to a suburb. She asked him: What were you doing? He said: I was just walking down the street. She commented--and there was laughter in the audience--Why were you walking down the street? You know we haven't had our meet-and- greet with the police department yet. I am saying that to say this: we need a truth and reconciliation in this country similar to what they experienced in South Africa about the plight of young Black males. They are marginalized. Every social institution fails them by the time they are 18 years old, like Michael Brown. The educational system has failed them.…”