Gayle King On Her Son Being Black In America

Black parents being concerned for their children’s safety is nothing new, especially as it relates to police violence. With protests all over the nation over police killings, many Black celebrities are speaking up about their fears they have for their children.

Gayle King is the latest public figure to discuss her greatest fear.

On June 3, Gayle King, 65, appeared on The Talk and said, “My son is 33 years old, and I’m worried about him… I’m worried about him walking his frickin’ dog. I worry for him being a Black man, period.”

“My son is 33 years old, and I’m worried about him, saying, ‘Will, please don’t walk Scott [his dog], please don’t take him for long walks, everything is so volatile,'” King explained.

“He lives in the Santa Monica area, close to there, so he can hear the police choppers and he can hear the sounds of the city. And Santa Monica as you know is a very affluent town… but I’m worried about him walking his frickin’ dog… I worry for him being a Back man, period.”

King’s son is Will Bumpus Jr. He lives in the Santa Monica area of Los Angeles where there have been protests and heavy police activity. 

King continued, “And now everybody is so amped up about everything. I do, I worry a lot about his safety. Welcome to being Black in America. This is not new.”

RELATED: George Floyd’s Death Sparks Viral Song For Change By 12-Year-Old

She also shared her thoughts on the horrific video of George Floyd’s death, “I start thinking about all kinds of things about that video. That’s what’s making me emotional — that his last words were ‘mom, mama. This is what’s getting me. It goes to the primal instinct that we all have. Because your mother is your ultimate protector. And his mother died two years ago. But we didn’t even know that at the time.”

Watch the clip of Gayle King below:

George Floyd was killed on May 25 in Minneapolis after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, 44, had his knee in the 46-year-old’s neck for more than seven minutes. Chauvin was fired from the Minneapolis Police Department and arrested on third-degree murder and manslaughter charges. On June 3, his charges were upgraded to second-degree murder by Attorney General Keith Ellison. 

Thomas Lane, 37, Tou Thao, 34,  and J. Alexander Kueng, 26, the three other officers who stood by and watched Floyd die were also finally arrested and charged with aiding and abetting murder.

BET has been covering every angle of George Floyd’s death in police custody, other social justice cases and the subsequent aftermath and protests. For our continuing coverage, click here.