Latest / R.E.A.L. Talk for REAL L.Y.F.E. / The Audacity to Attack: A Mother's Fight for Answers

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The Audacity to Attack: A Mother's Fight for Answers · R.E.A.L. Talk for REAL L.Y.F.E.

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  Welcome to Real Talk for Real Life, where we are realizing everyone is always
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  learning and living your full experience.
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  I'm your host, Coach C, and this is a Real Talk special edition, The Audacity to Attack.
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  Listen, the Nolan Wells case has brought about a whole lot of noise,
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  nonsense, and narratives.
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  But let me say this clearly. The questions surrounding Nolan's death did not
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  begin because his mother hired a high-profile attorney.
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  They did not begin because social media started speaking up.
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  And they did not begin because people decided to make accusations without evidence.
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  The questions began because the story surrounding Nolan Wells' death did not make sense.
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  And unfortunately, Mississippi has yet to make it make sense.
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  Somehow, instead of producing answers, providing transparency,
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  and completing a thorough investigation,
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  it appears that far too many people have gone on the offense because a grieving mother dared to ask,
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  one painfully simple question.
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  What happened to my son?
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  And because she refuses to stop asking, they have demonstrated the audacity to attack.
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  They are attacking her character. They are attacking her career.
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  They are attacking her credibility.
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  And some have even attacked the character of her deceased child.
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  As if Nolan is not somebody's son, somebody's brother, somebody's friend,
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  and somebody whose life mattered.
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  Yes, y'all, earth is ghetto because some of the people participating in these attacks are women.
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  Some of them are mothers. Somebody once carried them, cared for them,
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  and cried over them, yet they have somehow found the courage to criticize another mother for,
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  refusing to quietly accept a questionable explanation concerning the death of her child?
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  That is not just concerning, that is scary.
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  Nolan reportedly went missing and was later found dead in Ocean Springs,
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  Mississippi, after being out with three affluent white friends.
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  And before there appeared to be any complete investigation, the first public
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  message from the town sheriff was that this appeared to be a drowning
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  and that there was no suspicion of foul play.
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  Now hear me carefully. Nobody said there was foul play.
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  The question is, how could anyone be so certain that there wasn't foul play
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  before completing a full investigation?
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  How do you reach the resolution before reviewing all the information?
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  How do you announce the answer before asking all the questions?
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  How do you decide the destination before thoroughly examining the direction?
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  That is what people are questioning. And questioning the investigation is not
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  the same as accusing someone of committing a crime.
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  Requesting transparency is not spreading a conspiracy.
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  Demanding due diligence is not demanding a predetermined conclusion.
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  It is asking law enforcement to follow the facts wherever the facts lead.
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  But apparently, some people believe Christine Wells Wansley should accept what
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  she has been told as the truth, stop asking questions, stop seeking answers, and sit down.
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  Well, miss me with all that, Mississippi, and miss me with the malicious mob mentality.
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  Because if my son disappeared and later turned up dead under circumstances that
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  left me with unanswered questions,
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  I would hire every damn attorney, investigator, expert, and advocate I could find.
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  And yes, if my black son turned up missing and was later found dead after being
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  with affluent white young men and officials appeared ready to call it
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  an accidental drowning before a complete investigation, I might seek the assistance
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  of a civil rights attorney, too.
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  That does not mean I am accusing anybody of murder.
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  It means history has taught black mothers that sometimes we need help making
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  sure our children receive the attention,
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  protection, and investigation that they deserve.
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  Christine Wells Wansley retained a high-profile civil rights attorney after
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  her son went missing and was found dead, not before.
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  So why is securing legal representation being treated like an act of aggression?
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  Why is a mother's pursuit of information being portrayed as persecution?
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  Why has the focus shifted from discovering what happened to Nolan to discrediting
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  the woman who gave birth to him.
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  That is the audacity the audacity to attack a mother instead of addressing the matter
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  the audacity to scrutinize her career instead of scrutinizing the circumstances
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  the audacity to dissect Nolan's character instead of dissecting the timeline
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  the audacity to demand her silence while offering her no satisfying answers.
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  Then the three young men who reportedly with Nolan appeared in an interview
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  on a former law enforcement officer's show.
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  And during that interview, one of the sentiments expressed was that if Nolan's
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  mother had not shared the photograph of them, they would not be in this position?
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  First of all, how disrespectful. Second of all, if that were the last known
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  photograph showing what my missing son was wearing and who he was last seen
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  with, I would have shared it too.
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  Most mothers would. When your child
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  is missing, you are not thinking about protecting everybody's comfort.
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  You are thinking about finding your child.
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  And yes, we are going directly to the internet because information travels across
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  social media faster than it travels through individual phone calls.
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  That photograph could have helped somebody recognize Nolan.
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  It could have helped establish a timeline. It could have helped run somebody's baby home.
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  The tragedy is not that his mother shared a photograph while searching for him.
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  The tragedy is that the next major update was that this young black man had been found dead.
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  So no, the concern surrounding this case was not created by a photograph.
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  The concern was created by the circumstances. The questions were created by the inconsistencies.
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  The attention was created by the absence of adequate answers,
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  and the amplification was created because a mother's grief was met with what
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  felt like a rush toward a conclusion.
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  You cannot be angry with the public for discussing what the public was able to see.
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  You cannot blame Nolan's mother because people notice the details surrounding
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  her son's disappearance,
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  and you cannot bully a grieving woman into abandoning her search for answers
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  simply because those questions make other people uncomfortable.
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  Listen, let me say something else. Advocating for Nolan does not require threatening,
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  harassing, or falsely accusing anyone.
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  We do not need manufactured evidence. We do not need reckless rumors.
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  And we do not need to decide guilt or innocence on social media. What we need is truth.
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  What we need is transparency. What we need is a complete, competent,
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  and credible investigation.
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  Because asking what happened to Nolan Wells is not an attack.
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  It is a necessary question, and if the official conclusion is accurate,
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  then a thorough investigation should support it. The evidence should support it.
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  The timeline should support it. The toxicology and autopsy findings should support it.
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  The witness statements should support it.
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  The complete records should support it. Truth does not need intimidation to protect it.
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  Truth does not need character assassination to carry it.
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  Truth can withstand questions. So stop trying to silence a mother by scrutinizing her life.
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  Stop trying to erase the questions by attacking her child.
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  Stop confusing accountability with accusation.
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  And stop acting as though demanding answers is more offensive than the absence of those answers.
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  Because Christine Wells Wansley
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  should not have to be a perfect woman to deserve answers about her son.
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  Nolan should not have to be a perfect young man for his death to receive a complete investigation.
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  Justice is not reserved for perfect people.
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  Dignity is not reserved for perfect families and the truth should not depend
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  upon somebody's money race reputation relationships or zip code
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  we are not asking Mississippi to manufacture a crime we are asking Mississippi
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  to thoroughly investigate a death
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  we are not demanding a specific conclusion We are demanding a credible process.
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  We are not saying we already know what happened. We are asking the question
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  that has remained at the center of this case from the very beginning.
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  What happened to Nolan Wells?
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  And until the credible evidence provides that answer, you damn right,
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  we are going to continue amplifying his mother's question,
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  not because we want division, not because we want destruction,
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  not because we have decided anybody's guilt, but because Nolan's life deserves diligence.
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  His mother deserves dignity and this investigation deserves daylight.
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  Here's your fearless homework. Your fearless homework this week is to examine
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  how you respond when somebody else's pain makes you uncomfortable.
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  Do you search for truth or search for reasons to silence them?
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  Do you extend compassion or participate in character assassination?
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  Do you examine the facts or simply defend the familiar?
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  Before you share a claim, verify it.
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  Before you attack a grieving family, remember their humanity.
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  And when legitimate questions remain unanswered, use your voice responsibly.
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  Ask for transparency without spreading rumors. Advocate for accountability without
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  manufacturing accusations.
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  Stand for justice without surrendering your integrity.
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  Share Nolan's name.
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  Amplify the central question and remind the world that seeking answers is not an attack.
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  Silencing the person asking them is.
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  This is Coach C, and this has been another special edition of Real Talk for Real Life.
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  Say his name, Nolan Wells. Ask the question, what happened to Nolan Wells?
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  And until the truth meets transparency, we will keep talking because silence
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  may protect comfort, but courage pursues the truth.
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  And always live fearless, keep learning, keep living.
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  This is Real Talk for Real Life. That's L-Y-F-E, where everyone is always learning
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  and living your full experience.
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  For more inspiration, merchandise, and motivation between episodes.
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  This is Coach C. I'll see you in the next one.