Grammy-award-winning artist and actress Jill Scott recently admitted to considering moving out of the United States out of fear for her 12-year-old son’s safety.
In an interview with Jemele Hill’s Unbothered podcast, Scott said it’s ‘terrifying” to raise a son in America when Hill questioned what it is like to rear a Black son in the country’s current climate.
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“It’s terrifying because it doesn’t matter if you have, or you don’t. All that matters is that you’re brown. That’s it,” said Scott.
The most significant concern for Scott is that her son is close to being of driving age, and she is afraid for his safety while driving in the streets.
“Just to know that he will be on the road, just to know that he will be away from people that love him in a world that will decide whether he’s guilty of something because he’s brown. That’s terrifying. It makes me consider leaving this place often.”
According to the episode, it seems like Scott is placing deep consideration into the region of The Netherlands.
“We like Holland. They chilling,” she told Hill. “They have great healthcare, they ride their bikes everywhere … people are pretty fit. They speak more than Dutch. Most people […] speak three or four different languages. That’s dope. It’s below sea-level so, the food is well-hydrated.”
Scott also stated that she likes the education system of Holland, adding that it is “dope” and said that there are no boundaries on diversity there.
Like many other Black parents in the United States, Scott feels fear for the upbringing of their children.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama also shared her same sentiments. Obama told CBS, “every time they get in a car by themselves, I worry about what assumption is being made by somebody who doesn’t know everything about them.”
