Before my lecture at Boston University, Linda Heywood, director of the African American Studies program, called for a moment of silence for Trayvon Martin. This was Thursday, March 22, 2012 and I had just torn myself from the latest insulting press conference on CNN about the case. Silence was observed for a full minute and it changed the energy of every word I spoke that evening, almost as if I had never said those words before. I will never forget this lecture or the energy in that intimate space.
During the intense, intimate Q&A, a black male graduate student shared his experience of being beaten by a spontaneous mob and barely escaping with his life. At least he wasn't turned away at the hospital, he shared. I responded with (among many other points) my belief in the importance of community conversation, as articulated in Living with Lynching.
