How does Vernesha, Tariq’s mother, show strength in the face of Tariq’s death

Vernesha is Tariq's mother. She has had a rough life, as her own mother had to raise her and her siblings alone. Her mother lives with her, and so she has a disabled child, her mother, and her son to take care of.

Vernesha is devastated when T is shot and says at one point that she wishes that she could hate Jack Franklin for shooting her boy, but the sorrow is so great that this is all she has room for in her heart.

Vernesha is convinced by Reverend Sloan that she needs to address the media and the community about Tariq's death and to defend the allegations that he was a drug user, a thief, and a gang member.