Regina King opens up about having an ‘ongoing conversation’ with her son about police brutality

Regina King opened up about the ‘ongoing conversation’ she has had to have with her now 24-year-old son Ian Alexander, Jr. regarding police brutality.

‘I think in most homes, black homes, it’s not just a conversation. It’s an ongoing conversation,’ began the 48-year-old Watchmen star during her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday.  

King also said that circumstances, like the recent senseless killing of George Floyd, make black men feel like they are ‘not worthy’ or ‘valuable’ to society. 

‘It’s another moment that’s telling them that they’re not worthy … their lives are not valuable once they walk outside of the comfort of their homes.’ 

‘The anger that they have, it just compounds every time something like [Floyd’s death] happens,’ explained the Academy Award winner. 

Though it is important for mothers to have conversations regarding police brutality in the United States with their African-American sons, Regina also acknowledges that it is not a simple one. 

‘The conversation shifts every time because you have to find a way to support their feelings and make sure that you’re letting them know that you hear them and that you do mirror the same sentiment.

‘But you don’t want them to do anything that’s going to put themselves in a situation that they may not come back home, they may not talk to you again,’ concluded King.  

Regina shares Ian Jr., her only child, with ex Ian Alexander Sr., who she married in 1997 and divorced in 2007. 

Protests have erupted across the nation in wake of the senseless killing of civilian George Floyd, who died at the hands of police in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25.  

In the horrifying video footage of Floyd’s death, he is seen saying that he can not breathe as officer Derek Chauvin, 44, kneeled on his neck.  

Eventually he went silent and limp, and he was later declared dead. 

The Minneapolis policeman accused of killing Floyd, Chauvin, was taken into custody on May 29 and charged with third-degree murder, officials said.  

On Wednesday, Chauvin’s charges were upgraded to second-degree murder.

Three more officers, Thomas Lane, 37, J. Alexander Kueng, 26, and Tou Thao, 34, were arrested and charged with ‘aiding and abetting murder,’ according to the New York Times.