Kay Coles James May 29 at 9:01 AM ·

This is all I’m going to say about this. Some have inboxed me to ask if I am going to speak about what is going on in Minneapolis. They want to know my opinion. Why keep posting pretty pictures? The answer is simple. For my own mental health. I have protested, demonstrated, led seminars on race, written about it, cried about it, and personally felt the sting of hatred. And by the way, being the President of The Heritage Foundation does not protect me. I have the privilege of being hated by the far right and the far left! Occupational hazard. Even though it gets tiresome, I’m ok with that.

Right now, I am frustrated and exhausted. When you are seventy years old, you have lived through one of the most challenging times in American history.

When your family has had crosses burned on their front lawns, when your own children have been stopped and harassed by police because they were driving through a white neighborhood, (which we 20 years later moved into) when you sit up at night with all the normal fears any parent would have when their kids are out, but have to add to that worry that they may not make it home just because they are Black males. I was stunned years ago when I realized that my white friends did not have to have “the talk” with their sons (It’s a thing. If you don’t know, look it up).

I could go on, but I won’t. To understand what is happening and why, you must put it in the proper historical context. Maybe then you can understand the frustration, anger, and outrage. Maybe then you will understand that this is not an isolated incident. Maybe then you can come to terms with the fact that there is a real problem that needs to be fixed. Maybe then you will understand that this has been simmering for a long time, and has resurfaced. Maybe then you won’t say hurtful misguided things like “this is not about race, just a bad cop.” And maybe then you will understand that this is not my problem to fix alone. I need my white friends to step up and take the lead. I’m tired.

I watched the video this morning. I had avoided it because I knew that it would take me emotionally to a place I didn’t want to be. It did. I have nothing inspiring to say.

For this, Tucker Carlson attacked James and the Heritage Foundation.