Deep Reads: Their sons’ lives ended in gunfire. In grief, they found a second act.
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 16 December 2023
⏱️ 19 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
After about 10 weeks of coaching this summer, six women turned their experiences of motherhood, loss and empowerment into their biggest display yet: a play called “Turning Pain Into Purpose: Say My Son’s Name.” They had hoped if a broader audience could hear their stories, something in the community might change — no more mothers crying over dying sons.
–
This story is part of a collection of new, occasional bonus episodes you’ll be hearing from “Post Reports.” We’re calling these stories “Deep Reads” and they’re part of The Post’s commitment to immersive and narrative journalism.
Today’s story was written and read by Jasmine Hilton.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | I'm Jasmine Hilton. I cover Crime and Courts for the Washington Post and I'm bringing you the next story in a new weekend offering from Post reports. |
| 0:09.0 | We're calling these stories deep reads. It's part of the post commitment to narrative journalism. |
| 0:15.3 | This is my story about six mothers in the Washington area whose sons were killed by gun |
| 0:20.2 | violence. After one of them began speaking out, she found healing and |
| 0:24.4 | strength in sharing her son's story. Together they put on a play for a larger |
| 0:28.8 | audience to share their son's names. Tiffany Evans laced her fingers with the women clothed in all black. |
| 0:38.0 | With their heads bowed and their eyes closed, a voice reverberated through the room over the footsteps in the hall of the nearby |
| 0:45.6 | theater and the nerves in their stomachs. Thank you for allowing us to tell our stories |
| 0:51.4 | and keeping our son's names alive, God. |
| 0:54.0 | Mm-hmm. Yes, God, Evans responded. |
| 0:58.0 | We felt like there was no way God, |
| 1:00.0 | when we felt like we wanted to kill ourselves God |
| 1:02.0 | after our sons left us God. |
| 1:03.7 | We still gave us the energy and the strength to get up every day and push forward |
| 1:08.1 | with God in the name of Jesus to wrap our sons, |
| 1:11.4 | name God, and to help other mothers out, Father God, that is unfortunately |
| 1:14.8 | in the same sorority as that's Father God. |
| 1:17.3 | We ask the God that you allow... |
| 1:18.9 | Yes, thank you, the woman said. |
| 1:22.4 | There they stood, eager to take the stage of the theater lab in downtown D.C. to share their stories of motherhood. |
| 1:30.0 | But the monologues would go beyond labor pains, late night feedings, and raising boys. |
| 1:35.0 | Just as the mothers remembered how they brought each of their children into the world, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Washington Post, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Washington Post and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.