During a statement at a Congressional Black Caucus press conference about police brutality and gun violence, Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., revealed the advice he gave his 21-year-old grandson about what to do if police stop him at a traffic light.
“I talked to him about how to conduct himself if he were stopped for a traffic violation, if he is questioned by a police officer,” Clyburn, who is black, explained Friday. “The kind of discussion I ought not have to have with my grandchild.”
“I should not have to say to my grandson, ‘You’ve got to deny your manhood if you want to ensure that you come home alive,'” Clyburn. “Black lives do matter.”
Clyburn urged his fellow lawmakers to “grow up enough” to have “the kinds of adult discussions about the issues that plague us as a country.”
The conference from the CBC came amid a violent week in the U.S.
This week, two black men — one in Louisiana, one in Minnesota — were shot dead by police. On Thursday night during a peaceful protest against police brutality in Dallas, a sniper opened fire, hitting 12 police officers, five fatally. Two civilians were also wounded before the suspect was killed.
