And before I know it Damion’s at the door, honking the horn. And Romey’s racing down the front step. And I said (very urgent) “Jerome! Be careful.” And he smiled that easy slow smile. And he said “I’ll be home by twelve-thirty” and I said “you better be in here by twelve a.m.” and he took off running. And we both knew he wouldn’t be home till twelve-forty-five. That’s Romey always trying to get away with something. But he was a good kid. My boy was good. And that’s all I said “be home by twelve.” And he was gone. (beat, emotion begins to build, voice wavers) And I’m real mad with myself. Cause I thought I should have told him wear your brown coat cause it’s a real warm coat. But I let him leave wearing the blue one and that not a real warm coat. And I should have told him I loved him—(yells out) I love you! And I should have just listened to that rotting feeling in my gut and begged him to stay. (yells out) Stay home Romey! But I didn’t. I should have just said (yells) Wear your brown coat Romey, it’s a warmer coat! Because he was lying on the ground you know, on the cold hard ground. Bleeding to death. And maybe if he was just wearing his brown coat—maybe the coat would have kept him—maybe… But brown coats don’t protect little black boys from eights bullets do they. Cause Damion said they were outside in the school parking lot. Romey was talking to Denna. And one minute he was laughing, and there was a bang and Romey fell to the ground. And by the time the police came the only people left in the parking lot was Damion and Mr. Roland. He’s Romey’s—he was, Romey’s history teacher. He took his jacket off and put it on Romey to keep him warm. At the funeral I thanked him for that, you know for trying to keep my baby warm. (two beats) No one knows who did it. No one knows why? And no one is talking about it. There was no witnesses. No witnesses? Nearly two hundred kids in a parking lot and no one saw anything. But someone shot Romey three times. Three times and my baby’s gone. Because they killed him! They can do that! Your son can kill my son just because! Because, maybe he didn’t like the colour of his jacket, or maybe he felt some sort of disrespect because someone stepped on his shoe in a club, But they are killing each others! (two beats) And the police claim they are doing all that they can. But who is protecting our children from some of them police. How much is my son’s life worth? (beat) Why do you need a license to shoot a damn bird! You go to jail for leaving your dog outside! But my baby, can lie on the ground for twenty minutes before someone calls an ambulance. (beat) Because there is no sign posted “warning Black boys are in danger of becoming extinct.”