In an emotional first person essay, This Is Us actor, 12-year-old Lonnie Chavis, has detailed his experiences of the racism, intimidation and stress he has faced while in Hollywood.
The anti-bullying advocate shared what started out as a letter to his mom about what it is like to grow in America as a young Black boy as he struggles to reflect on the senseless death of George Floyd.
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Chavis then talks about being educated by his parents and having long conversations and watching moving screenings like Malcolm X and Amistad.
He then went on to reflect on a few racial incidents that shook him to his core, Chavis talked about being racially profiled at a restaurant in San Diego, where a young white woman accused him and his friends of trying to steal tips and his mother being pulled over and questioned by a police officer about her new car.
But the one event that still weighs heavily is when he witnessed a confrontation with a police officer and his father on his family’s front door.