Terry Taylor would like to tell you a story. It's a small story. May not even sound like much to you. But it's reality for a young Black man in America, and it's a reality whether you harbor aspirations of being an All-American basketball player or not.

This was back in the summer. Terry and his younger brother, Chris, did what young people the world over do with nary a second thought—they went into a video game store in their hometown. To buy a video game, as one does.

The following anecdote may not resonate with you. Count yourself as fortunate if it does not.

"We walked in and the workers said 'Hey, how you doing, need any help?'" he said. "We said no, we're good, just looking. So we're looking around and one of the workers comes over beside us, checking out the games. I paid no mind to him. I switch over to the other side of the store, my brother follows me, and the guy working there followed us.

"We started noticing the worker would follow us around the store, wherever we went. Finally, I pulled my wallet out and he saw that I was going to wind up paying and left me alone. And that's being a young Black man in America in 2020."

Terry Taylor is tired. It's hard to blame him, because being Black in America has become a referendum and a talking point for a lot of people, and not all with the best intentions at heart. And so he wants you to hear it, no matter how difficult it may be: Black Lives Matter.

They have to. Because until they do, any counterargument rings hollow.

"Not to get too Biblical, but it reminds me of the story of the shepherd with 100 sheep," Taylor went on. You can find it in Matthew 18:12-14 and Luke 15:3-7. "One wandered off, and [the shepherd] needed to go tend to that one. He didn't forget about the rest of his sheep, that one just needed his attention more right then. Nobody is being forgotten about; everybody's lives matter, but right now black people's lives are being taken and we have to tend to that right now."

Terry Taylor has been inspired. He's seen the way athletes have taken the mantle of social change and been advocates for it. And as a senior, as the reigning Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year, as a leader and as a human being, he's ready to make his voice heard.

"I've been quiet, I've never been one to talk, but seeing the NBA players, seeing Lebron James and Donovan Mitchell and even commentators like Kenny Smith and Robert Horry, it makes me as an athlete want to speak out more and advocate for a solution and get people to understand the Black Lives Matter movement and what it's like to be Black in America," he said. "Our brothers and sisters, they need our help and everyone else's help to speak out, advocate and try to make a better way.

"Being Black in America, you're perceived a different way, especially if you're a bigger Black person. You can come off as scary or threatening or intimidating, and that's not the case. We have to understand each other. We do a lot of talking but not a lot of listening to each other. Take the time to listen and understand."

This is bigger than Terry Taylor, bigger than basketball. To even touch on these subjects is considered taboo, possibly even detrimental to his future. There will be corners of the world advocating that he, "Shut up and dribble."

This is not an option.

"I'm more than just a basketball player," he said. "At the end of the day, I'm someone's brother, someone's boyfriend, I'm a Christian. People need to realize that's a reality. It feels like [Black people] don't matter and it feels like people don't care enough to want to know how to fix the problem or even understand it.

"My brother is 12 years old. I shouldn't have to worry about him; he plays Fortnite, plays sports, and sleeps. But it's always there, in the back of my mind, that I need to worry about him."

He wants for Chris the same things he wants for himself, for everyone. Fairness and equity, certainly; but also, happiness, comfort and satisfaction.

"I'm always telling people hey, God woke you up today," he said. "You gotta be grateful for that. You [referencing the author] got to get up and do your job, to be a father, I got to play basketball. That's what it is, to be happy."

That's not so much to ask, now, is it?