For the entire history of these United States, black folks have had to understand whites.

Blacks have had to have intimate knowledge of those who had enslaved their ancestors and shipped them far from home. We have done so by observing not only behavior, but words and the thought processes behind them as well. As slaves and freed folk, blacks served whites and – in order to remain amongst the living – had to learn the nuances of social and interpersonal behavior, becoming, in effect, professional psychologists and philosophers.

This knowledge was passed down across the generations. Consciously, sub-consciously and genetically.

Most black families have a time when the young children are given “The Talk”. A time in which America’s propensity toward violence against black bodies is laid out in the most direct and succinct manner possible. “The Talk” is often filled with dire warnings and examples in personal life…