The Day Of Summer - Original Writing Essay

It was June 1993 and I was walking to church on what felt like the hottest day of summer. I had just witnessed the police assaulting innocent people. Scared and confused, I immediately turned back and ran home. It was the first time leaving my house without my mother and I did not want to wake her since it was only 5 am. I had no idea that police brutality was so common that I cannot walk on the street for 10 minutes without seeing white police officers beating innocent pedestrians.
I came home to find my mother wide-awake and angry. She yelled, “Kagiso, where did you go? I told you to never leave the house without me.” She explained how dangerous the world is for black Africans like her and me. “I was planning on telling you when you were older. I just wanted you to be happy.”
This only made me angry. I still believe she should have told me earlier. After all, I am 10 years old, perfectly capable of crossing the street.

In only 2 months, I had discovered many things on my own. For example, I realized that many kids my age are going to school and getting an education while I have to live in fear simply because I am black. I have seen too many people assaulted and having to be separated from their families. One day, when I was at church with my mother, I met Xhosa Ademola. She was sitting next to us when she introduced herself. We invited her over and we talked for hours. Oddly, I felt very safe with her, but I did not question it. She was a very sweet old lady. She told…