Baltimore mother Toya Graham is being hailed as a hero after physically removing her son from participating in the Baltimore riots at Mondawmin Mall earlier this week. Toya Graham has inspired #MomOfTheYear on Twitter, and her dedication to keeping her children on the right path is applauded by many.
Toya Graham, however, does not feel like a hero. She simply feels like a mom who loves her son and fears he could end up as another thug on the streets. Graham plans to make sure that doesn’t happen.
“I don’t feel like a hero. My intention was to get my son and have him be safe. I knew the whole thing was not safe… That’s my only son and at the end of the day, I don’t want him to be a Freddie Gray. I cant imagine what Freddie Gray’s mother is going through. I don’t want to lose my son to the streets.”
The upstanding mother of six works, takes care of her family, and goes to church. In fact, Toya Graham was worried about what her pastor would think of the action she took to ensure that her son was not part of the violent activities in Baltimore this week, reports the Daily Mail . It seems Toya Graham has nothing to worry about on that front, however, as Pastor Jamal Bryant fully approves of the action Graham took to ensure her son’s safety, dubbing her “Mom of the Century.”
“I wish all of the parents of Baltimore would take on her spirit and go pull your children out of the streets.”
My daughter is trying to be a police officer… I know she would make a difference – #ToyaGraham on #Baltimore pic.twitter.com/YlHuN9nssz
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) April 30, 2015
Though Toya Graham understands the frustration of the Baltimore community regarding the Freddie Gray case, she does not believe that violence is the answer.
“I started focusing on these bricks being thrown at police officers, and I turned around, and I saw Michael. I was so angry with him that he had made a decision to do some harm to police officers… You will not be throwing rocks and stones at police officers. Whose to say they don’t have to come and protect me from something?”
What do you think about the discipline Toya Graham delivered to her son, Michael Singleton? Is Toya Graham a hero, despite her own beliefs? Share your opinions here.
[Image via Bombay Hott Radio ]