By A Black American Freedman

There’s a tragedy unfolding in Virginia — and at the heart of it is a question we’ve been forced to ask for generations: Do Black people have the right to defend themselves? Even when it’s dark. Even when it’s their own home. Even when it feels like a threat. Even when it is a threat — or turns out to be a “prank.”

According to reports, a Black homeowner shot and killed a white high school student around 3:00 a.m. after what was initially believed to be an attempted break-in. Multiple neighbors had already called the authorities to report a potential burglary in the area. In the dead of night, with safety and sanity hanging by a thread, the homeowner took action to protect his home and his life.

Later, authorities stated that the teen was allegedly participating in a TikTok prank — one of those so-called “pranks” that blur the line between comedy and chaos, between a joke and a felony. But how is a homeowner supposed to know that? At 3:00 in the morning? When someone’s at your door — or worse, trying to force their way in — are we supposed to assume they’re there to make viral content?

This isn’t about being insensitive to the death of a young person. A life was lost. A family is grieving. That matters. But grief does not erase the right to self-defense — and race should not determine who gets to invoke that right.

Because if the roles were reversed — if a white man shot a Black teen at 3:00 a.m. in “self-defense” — would he be in handcuffs or on Fox News being praised for his vigilance?

It’s always different when it’s us. The benefit of the doubt doesn’t flow equally. The assumption of innocence — that it was a prank, or a mistake, or just kids being kids — that grace rarely applies when you’re Black. Our fear is criminalized. Our safety is questioned. Our very presence is seen as threatening — and our responses to threats are called excessive.

Let’s be honest: these so-called TikTok pranks have gone too far. Ringing doorbells and running off is one thing. Trying to break in or simulate a burglary? That’s not funny. That’s dangerous — and it can get people killed. Not just the prankster, but the person reacting to it. Especially in a country armed to the teeth and wired with fear.

We can mourn this loss without pretending this is only about a bad joke gone wrong. It’s about a system that still punishes Black people for defending themselves — even in their own homes, even when the danger turns out to be real or mistaken.

What would you do if you thought someone was breaking into your home at 3:00 a.m.? That’s not a hypothetical for us. That’s real life. And that’s a right we’re still fighting to have recognized.

This tragedy should be a wake-up call — not just about reckless internet stunts, but about the uneven application of justice. Because if self-defense only counts when you don’t look like me, then it’s not really a right — it’s a privilege. One we’ve been denied for far too long.