Tina Knowles revealed the heavy discussion she had with her grandson Julez about what he needs to do in the instance he is ever pulled over by police.
Julez is the 16-year-old son of Solange Knowles and the nephew of Beyoncé — but Tina believes his famous family won’t matter in the eyes of the law.
“I have a 15 year old grandson who is… he has an opinion on everything,” the 66-year-old opened up when speaking on the Oprah Winfrey Network special: OWN Spotlight: Black Women OWN The Conversation – Vote! that aired Tuesday.
The conversation was filmed before Julez’s birthday.
Knowles said she tried to “squelch” her grandson’s tendency to speak his mind, insisting that he needs to be mindful of his language when interacting with an officer.
“Listen, in those situations, you just have to be quiet and you have to be subservient and you have to keep your hands on the steering wheel,” she recalls telling her teenage grandson, which she notes went over like a lead ballon.
Knowles said her grandson kept asking her “why” he needed to act differently around police officers, which made their discussion “painful.”
“It drives me crazy to have to have that conversation, because that’s not what he’s been taught,” she lamented, “He’s been taught to ask questions and ask ‘Why?"”
“It’s really painful for me,” Knowles admitted, adding that she’s spoken about the same matter to other Black teenagers who “do not understand” the gravity of their situation.
Knowles also grew emotional when speaking about how the video of George Floyd being detained by police affected the Black community.
“When this man called out for his mother, it did something. It touched people,” she explained. “I don’t think anyone can watch that and not be affected.”
By Megan Stone
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