After his mum, Toya Graham, justified her angry reaction to various media outlets,16-year-old Michael Graham has decided to share his side of the story.
Explaining what brought him out on to the city streets in the first place, Michael said: "A couple of friends have been beaten and killed by police and I felt I had to go down there and show my respect."
Opening up about how he felt when he realised he had been caught by his mother, Michael said: "I was just like ‘Oh man! My mother. What is my mother doing here?"
Revealing that the sound of her voice stunned him, the teen said that his mind went into overdrive, admitting: "When I heard 'Put that brick down’ I was like ‘Oh that’s my mama'. Ain’t nobody else talk like that but my mother."
Toya, who is also mother to five daughters, was understandably horrified to find her son participating in violent protests and insisted he had not been raised to behave in that manner, saying: "He’s not a perfect child, but he’s also not a thug."
Acknowledging that his mother acted out of nothing but love for him, Michael, in an incredible show of maturity despite what his peers may consider a public humiliation, said: "She didn't want me to get into trouble with the law or be another Freddie Gray."
Admitting that the aftermath of the public incident was far from low-key, Michael joked it was like 'World War 3'.
We can only imagine!
