It has been another week in America,
which means it's been another week
of Black people being harassed or killed by the police.
And by now, everybody's aware of what happened to Daunte Wright
and Lieutenant Nazario.
And although each incident ended very differently,
they both began the same way.
It's the same way that many of these encounters begin--
with a traffic stop.
Now, for Black people in America,
these traffic stops are scarier than any Jordan Peele movie.
Driving While Black. In many U.S. cities,
police officers are pulling Black drivers over
at a much higher rate than white drivers.
Black drivers are far more likely than white ones
to have guns pointed at them by police,
to be detained, handcuffed, searched and arrested.
Those blue-and-red cherries come on behind you,
you all of a sudden get a tingle,
-(amplified heartbeat) -your heart starts to race,
even when you know you've done nothing.
MAN: And there is not a moment that goes by,
when police are riding behind me,
where I don't fear being pulled over.
NEWSMAN: The fear of Driving While Black
is always present, even in life's happier moments.
Like when Rhona Vega's 18-year-old son Teji
won a car on The Price Is Right.
RHONA: It was so surreal.
So much joy and excitement,
and then reality set in.
My 18-year-old Black Latino son does not need a car
and what's gonna be the problems that he's gonna encounter.
Goddamn!
Think about how messed up it is
that the only way a Black person would be happy
about winning a car on The Price Is Right
is if it came with a white person to drive it for them.
I mean, no one should be afraid that they'll be killed
because of something they won on The Price Is Right.
Other than maybe one of those pontoon boats.
Those things are death traps.
I'm pretty sure you're only allowed to drive them
if you're drunk.
But this just shows you how getting behind the wheel
is a very different experience for Black people in America.
It's why Vin Diesel is always the main character
in Fast and the Furious movies.
You can't have Tyrese pulled over for a busted taillight
when you're trying to drive out of a skyscraper.
And you might be thinking, "Well, if you're so scared
of being pulled over, then don't do anything wrong."
Yeah, but let's be honest, people.
America's laws always give the police an excuse
to pull someone over.
"Oh, I think you were going too fast."
"I think you were going too slow."
"Oh, your seat belt." "Your taillight."
"Your license plate." "Your registration."
"Not signaling." "Tinted windows."
And nothing is more suspicious
than someone breaking zero rules in their car.
Ooh. Cops will pull you over instantly.
"Sir, I couldn't help noticing that you were driving perfectly,
"and that was a little suspicious, to be honest.
Why don't you go ahead and pop the trunk."
But it's not just traffic stops.
Every encounter
between a police officer and a Black person
is fraught with danger.
In fact, there's something in Black families
called "the talk."
And I don't know if my white viewers know about this.
I mean, maybe it's one of those things that Black people do
that you've never heard of before.
You know, like laying edges
or putting plastic bags on your Jordans when it rains.
But believe me, every Black family
knows what the talk is.
NEWSMAN: We call it "the talk,"
a discussion Black parents
have had with their children for generations.
WOMAN: A conversation that you and I have to have that-that...
It is tantamount to their survival.
NEWSMAN 2: Alerting children about interactions with police
where body language, tone of voice, word choice,
and other factors in certain circumstances
can lead to arrest or worse.
At some point, you will get pulled over,
and here is how you act.
Put your hands on the wh... uh, on the steering wheel.
Uh, make sure the lights are on.
Don't do anything without police, uh, permission.
Ask before you get your registration.
You don't question and challenge the police officers
like everybody else can.
You guys just have to be a little wiser
in terms of how you communicate
and not agitate the situation any more than it is.
Submit, obey, come home.
The talk will always happen in Black households.
You have to talk about the birds and the bees,
and then you have the talk
about how to deal with law enforcement.
That's right. Police violence is such a threat
that somehow, the most uncomfortable talk
you have to have with your kids
is the one where you don't use the word "semen."
And, look, I know that all parents
talk to their kids about how to stay safe,
but for Black people,
it's specifically about staying safe
from the police,
the people whose job is supposedly to keep them safe.
The police talk simply isn't something that occurs
in white households.
I mean, if it did, it would be a very different conversation.
"Okay, now, honey, if you ever get pulled over
"by a police officer, what do you do?
"You look him in the eye, and you say,
"'Do you know who I am?!'
"And then he'll apologize,
and he'll let you be on your way."
And, by the way, it's not like kids hear the talk
when they're 18.
The saddest part about this talk
is that because police have a history
of treating even eight-year-olds
like adults who have committed heinous crimes,
parents have to give the talk to their kids
when they are extremely young.
BENNETT: As a mom, I've always taught my children
to, you know, be strong, say what you want to say.
You know, there's freedom of speech.
And I'm telling you to do just the opposite.
I hated to have that with a ten-year-old,
but I got to do what was necessary.
Oh, I absolutely think it's young.
Um, but not too early.
We've talked about it ever since he became
about four and a half feet tall.
(chuckles) So, it's been years now.
If you wait until somebody is 12, 13, 14
to put that on them,
it's-it's really... It can be really difficult.
It's definitely wrong that we have to go through this,
but, also, like, we have to remember
we have to take it in stride
if we want to get to where we want to be in life.
If, uh, I don't listen and understand,
I could p-potentially be one of those in a video.
We actually have a line that we do at our house.
We practice this thing. What is it?
I'm Ariel Sky Williams.
I'm eight years old.
I'm unarmed,
and I have nothing that will hurt you.
An eight-year-old girl, people.
What's even more wild than an eight-year-old
having to memorize a script to interact with the police
is the fact that a fully grown, armed and armored police officer
would feel threatened by an eight-year-old girl.
I can tell you I haven't felt threatened by an eight-year-old
since I was, like, I don't know, 15.
I was a very small child.
You know, when you think about it,
Black people have more education around policing
than actual police.
Like, no cop starts training at eight years old.
I mean, maybe kids play cops and robbers,
but that's actually terrible training.
You know? 'Cause I've never seen a cops and robbers game
that ends in a peaceful arrest.
Yeah, they're just raining "pew-pew-pews"
all around the neighborhood.
So, we know that Black people know what's at stake
and have methods of how to handle
being pulled over by the police.
But the talk still hasn't been able
to prevent police violence against Black people.
So maybe it's not Black people who need a talk
about how to act around the police.
Maybe, just maybe, police need a talk
about how to act around Black people.