Please Don't Kill My Black Son, Please: A Memoir in Essays

Sprung from Wabuke’s Hairpin viral essay, “Five Moments in the Life of a Black Mother”: a deeply poignant memoir in essays exploring the cultural, historical, and personal trauma of Black motherhood in America. When Hope Wabuke became a mother, she was thrilled—and yet she could not separate her excitement and love from her anxiety. She knew the names of the unarmed Black boys and girls lost in recent years: Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Mike Brown, Jordan Davis, Ayana Davis, Renisha McBride, Elijah El-Amin, Ahmaud Arbery—and on and on and on. She knew the worst the world was capable of doing to her son. In the years since his birth, Wabuke has confronted first-hand the unique difficulties of protecting and raising her son in the midst of an abusive relationship with his father.