Every Mother's Fear and Black Mother's Nightmare: What Happened To Nolan Xavier Wells?

At Ms. Studios and Ms. Magazine, we have long recognized that reproductive justice is not a matter that begins and ends with pregnancy.  Rather the call for reproductive justice endures after birth, into childhood, and teenage years for so many mothers, especially Black mothers.  Mamie Till Mobley comes to mind—the mother of Emmett Till.  Emmett was murdered just after his 14th birthday in drew, Mississippi.  He was abducted, shot, lynched and his murderers were acquitted by an all-male, all white jury.  His killers would later confess in look magazine.  ·        Trayvon Martin comes to mind.  Killed in Florida, just after his 17th birthday.  Brutally murdered by George Zimmerman while walking home carrying iced tea and a packet of candy--skittles.  Zimmerman was found not guilty.·        Tamir Rice, twelve years-old, shot dead by Officer Timothy Loehmann, within mere seconds upon encountering this child who was in a park holding a toy gun.·        Ruby Bridges integrating William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana in 1960—comes to mind.  An all-white mob outside of the school threatening to harm her.  For Ruby’s mother—Lucille Bridges—reproductive justice wasn’t just about birth—it was about her daughter being able to flourish in a society wherein Jim Crow and Jane Crow racial segregation and discrimination were the normalized landscape.In this episode we shine a light and ask what happened to Nolan Xavier Wells, a teenager found dead on Horn Island in Mississippi.  His death has been ruled a drowning by local law enforcement, although he could swim.  We issue a special call to action for local law enforcement and for all that saw Nolan on the last day of his life. Support the show