Back in 2020 I wrote an essay titled A White Woman’s Take on Black Murder about the murder of George Floyd. I spoke about the horror of the video, the culpability of white American society, and my strong belief that it’s the responsibility of white people in the United States to change, both as people and as a society set up to benefit us. It’s 2026 and the essay is still relevant. Nolan Wells died in Mississippi on July 4, 2026 after spending the day with white friends on Horn Island. The investigation is still ongoing, the only fully verified facts are that he died, that his body was found on the island, and that the friends he came with initially left him behind. Why he was left behind is still speculation (there are a number of theories/stories being told at the moment.) His family has engaged an attorney, Ben Crump, and his body was flown out of Mississippi for an independent autopsy because his family was unsure about the local coroner’s ability to remain non-partisan if pressured by Nolan’s friends’ families.
My 2020 essay is relevant because Black families still have to worry about law enforcement choosing to take the side of white folks when investigating suspicious deaths of Black people. They have no choice but to speculate about whether race was a factor when white friends are involved. We are talking about the death of a Black teen and the last known eyewitnesses to see him alive are all white. We have not listened to, let alone changed, anything (behavior, society, systems) to make non-white people feel comfortable with our justice system. If anything, they’re worse. The re-election of Trump has made already emboldened racists even louder and more public in their fear and hatred.
Think about it like this. What if all the people involved were white? How would the story be played in the national media with that one change? Or, if we took it a step further, what if the boy that drowned was white and the boys who left him behind were Black? How would that play out with the media and with law enforcement?
I know that to many, this happening in Mississippi is all the ammunition you need to hate (even more) an entire state and region. I’m telling you now to keep your mouth closed about that aspect because this could happen in any state in the U.S. Pretending otherwise is just plain ignorant. Racism exists everywhere, some places are just better at hiding it.
Since this case is short on verifiable facts, I won’t speculate on the outcome. I wrote this because as a white woman, especially a white Southern woman, it’s up to people like me to keep insisting on justice for all people, especially non-white people. All lives won’t matter until Black Lives Matter. Full stop.
I encourage anyone and everyone to also read my 2020 essay, A White Woman’s Take on Black Murder to better understand stresses and sentiments I’ve mentioned and the systemic issues Black Americans face.
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