Just when you think you have heard it all, something explosive happens. Attorney John C. Floyd III was on the witness stand testifying for his daughter. He was explaining about keeping money in the house. His answer was so rich and right on time for Black History Month. He looked at the white judge in the Georgia courtroom and said, “Your Honor…It’s a Black Thing.” He was referring to keeping money in the house. Mr. Floyd, as a young student, belonged to a faction of the Black Panther Party. He saw two of the Panthers killed, and the murders encouraged him to become a lawyer. He once dated activist Angela Davis.
I heard the words of my mother. “Keep money in the house” means cash, not credit cards or checks, but green bills. Hide it, but know where it is. This is Black folklore. You never know what is going to happen. Like the Boy Scouts, you must always be prepared. Something could happen. Something like what? Who knows?
Watch Attorney Floyd tell the judge, “It’s a Black Thing” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8bGCm7qdDI.
Attorney Floyd, the father of Attorney Fani Willis, the District Attorney of Fulton County, where former President Donald Trump is being tried for trying to steal votes, is under her auspice. Willis is explaining her relationship with Attorney Nathan Wade to the court. The Trump team is claiming that she engaged in misconduct in a romantic relationship with Wade and is trying to remove her from the case.
Willis explains her father’s teachings and her upbringing. He said to always be able to come back from where you left off, which means money in your pocket—Independent Black woman. Take care of yourself at all times. Lesson Number 1 as a newlywed. Keep some money somewhere that your husband does not know about. Something might happen, and you need your very own money. Don’t be dependent. Rely on yourself. Take care of yourself. These are the words of parents to Black children as they are adulting, particularly females.
Remember going on a field trip in grammar school? Remember going to your first teen parties? Keep a dime in your shoe to call home if anything happens. (Yesteryear had public phones with dime slots. There were no cell phones).
I thought these rules were unique to my family. However, as I watched Attorney Floyd live on the witness stand, the phone began to ring; everybody thought back to youth and growing up when these were salient messages for teen years and early adults. “Keep six months of living money, in cash, at home.” This was money not to spend on shopping. This was emergency money, rainy day money. My dad told me to keep a year’s worth of living expenses in the bank when I got my first job. My mother said to keep cash at home, in the house, hidden somewhere.
Something may happen. Black folk have lived with insecurity forever—Rich Blacks to poor Blacks. There is always that “something may happen” factor looming. It also means white folk might do something. What? You are better off with cash than without. Keep some money in your pocket and in the house. Billie Holiday sang about it. “God Bless The Child, That’s Got His Own.”
The other Black thing is “the Talk” that Black parents have with their children, usually at the time they begin to drive. For Black boys, particularly, the talk means this is how you behave if stopped by the police. Keep your hands on the wheel, no false moves, do not go in your pocket, look down, no smart talk, be polite. This, too, is a Black thing. It’s another Black code of how to get along in American society, even in 2024.
Talking to friends, we all shared the same family secret about that money. Attorney Floyd brought it to the forefront on the witness stand.
Well, there you have it.
Watch the entire testimony of Attorney John Floyd III here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4pyZl-zwck.
