The Nolan Wells case prompts discussions about Black teens being in mostly White spaces
The Wonsley family, from left to right, Christine, her Husband Elmore, sons Elmore Jr. and Ethan attend a memorial service Nolan Xavier Wells, an 18-year-old found dead after taking a July 4 boat trip with friends, Monday, July 20, 2026, in Ocean Springs, Miss. AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
For many Americans, July 4, 2026, was full of families and friends celebrating our country's independence. But for the family of 18-year-old Nolan Wells, it was the start of a nightmare. The Black college football player accompanied his White male friends on a holiday boat trip to Horn Island — off the Mississippi coast. Hours later… his friends made it back home. Wells, did not. His body was found face-down in the water two days later. The mystery of what happened to him, why the young men who accompanied him aren't talking, and the location of his phone is the subject of an investigation and much speculation.
University of Illinois student and Dialogue intern Curtis Beasley IV spoke with Counselor/Life Coach Joe Omo-Osagie about navigating conversations with Black youth and parents about being alone in White spaces.
