Name: "You Have the Rite"
Uploaded: 2019-08-02T13:06:59Z
Duration: 7 min 4 s
Description: In a breathtaking, jazz-inflected spoken-word performance, TED Fellow Marc Bamuthi Joseph shares a Black father's tender and wrenching internal reflection on the pride and terror of seeing his son enter adulthood.

In a breathtaking, jazz-inflected spoken-word performance, TED Fellow Marc Bamuthi Joseph shares a Black father's tender and wrenching internal reflection on the pride and terror of seeing his son enter adulthood.

"You Have the Rite"

A father reflects on the mixture of pride and terror as his son turns 16 and begins to drive, inheriting both the sweet symbols of youth and the harsh realities of racial profiling. He recalls being handcuffed near his preschooler, fearing that his child’s last memory would be of waiting for a father who never arrived. The ritual of 'the talk' about surviving encounters with police becomes a silent prayer for safety every time his son gets behind the wheel. Through music, memory, and love, hope persists against the shadow of systemic danger.

A Black Father’s Pride Collides With Fear On America’s Roads

poetry

race

spoken word

social change

society

United States

identity

performance

TED Fellows

TED Stage Talk

Marc Bamuthi Joseph: "You Have the Rite"