Lauren London has been dealing with gun violence for much of her life — starting from her teenage years, growing up in Los Angeles. A most recent personal experience with gun violence for her took place March 31, 2019. That’s when her boyfriend and child’s father Nipsey Hussle was shot and killed in the Hyde Park section of L.A.
London spoke about Hussle during an episode of “Red Table Talk” that was released on Wednesday, June 3. The topic was about how gun violence affects women, especially Black women. Host Jada Pinkett Smith started the conversation by asking London what advice she’d give other people who’ve lost a significant other.
“For me what’s really been important is like connecting with God, and that’s been a struggle because something horrible happens in your eyes and you’re like ‘How God?’ And knowing that there is life after this life,” London explained around the 2:48 mark. “It’s not easy. I don’t always wake up on the enlightened side of the bed, and the days that I don’t I let myself ’cause I’m human.”
London is now raising two boys as a single mother — Kameron Carter who was fathered by Lil Wayne and Kross Asghedom, her younger son she had with Hussle.
Pinkett Smith asked the “ATL” star what lessons she gives to her boys about staying safe in a sometimes dangerous world.
At the beginning of the episode, Pinkett Smith mentioned George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died while in the custody of a now-fired Minneapolis police officer. She also talked about Ahmaud Arbery, another unarmed Black man who was killed by a white man and his son this February in Brunswick, Georgia.
“What I instill in them is more about the police,” London told Pinkett Smith about her boys. “How to handle yourself when you get pulled over… Protecting them being Black men in America.”
Hussle was killed in front of his store The Marathon Clothing at age 33. Eric Holder was arrested for the shooting two days later and charged with one count of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon. He’s pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
During the talk, London shared more on when she first experienced the effects of gun violence.
“Just growing up in L.A. in the area that I was around. Just in high school, a lot of the boys were in gangs, and I remember that a lot of our friends, by summertime they were gone,” she recalled. “They had transitioned from gun violence. So you kind of got a little bit … I don’t want to say numb but used to hearing it.”
Activist Erica Ford was another guest on the show and explained what women go through after losing a loved one. Ford owns LIFE Camp, an organization based in Queens, New York, that helps communities prevent and heal from violence.
“First the trauma of losing your soulmate, right? And then having to raise your children,” said Ford. “I see women stop living. I see them losing their lives from a broken heart. We teach them how to move past that pain. If you help the mother heal, you help save the family. You help change the family. You help change generations. You help change the world.”
