An 18-year-old has shared a powerful video in which he lists off the unwritten rules his mum insists he follows as a young back man so he 'comes home alive'.
Cameron Welch, who lives in Houston, posted the clip in the wake of the death of George Floyd, which has sparked protests and demonstrations both in the US and around the world.
The teenager highlights the daily reality he faces as a young black man and has seen moving the clip go viral with more than 10 million views on TikTok.
It was flooded with comments as others branded it 'sickening' that he is forced to restrict himself from doing things others are able to without a second thought for the sake of his own safety.
He captioned the video: "Jus some unwritten rules my mum makes me fellow as a young black man."
His mum's rules are:
- Don't put your hands in your pockets
- Don't put your hoodie on
- Don't be outside with no shirt on
- Check in with your people, even if you're only down the street
- Don't be out too late
- Don't touch anything you're not buying
- Never leave the store without a receipt or bag, even if it's just a pack of gum
- Never make it look like there's an altercation between you and someone else
- Never leave your house without ID
- Don't drive with a wifebeater on
- Don't drive with a du-rag on
- Don't go out in public in a wifebeater or du-rag
- Don't drive with the music too loud
- Don't stare at a caucasian woman
- If a policeman stops you randomly and starts questioning you, don't talk back, just compromise
- If you ever get pulled over, put your hands on the dashboard and ask if you can get out your licence and registration
Cameron told BuzzFeed : "I want people to understand the type of things my mum has to instill in me because my people continue to be judged by the colour of our skin and not the content of our character, as Martin Luther King Jr said. It is a required conversation our parents must have to ensure that we come home alive.
"Our voices are heard but not felt by the people. We endure too much pain and hurt to just be heard — we need you to feel just a fragment of what my people feel on a day-to-day basis in order to get meaningful change.
"I believe if you felt the bottled-up emotions of silence that our country makes us hold in, then we can make real change, because not one race should ever feel this way."
The video has had more than 65,000 comments, as one said: "This breaks my heart. I am so sorry."
Another replied: "The fact our parents have to tell us this is sad. We have to do this just to go outside."
A third said: "The fact you can't just live your life is sickening."
