Razorblade Tears

Content Warning: Razorblade Tears contains bigoted language toward Black and LGBTQ people. It also depicts interrogation scenes that use torture.

Ike gets a visit from two men, Detectives LaPlata and Detective Robbins. He has been out of prison for 15 years and still feels a sinking feeling whenever interacting with the police. However, this visit is not about him. Detective LaPlata asks him if he is Isiah’s father, and Ike immediately realizes his son is dead.

Ike and his wife, Mya, attend the funeral for their son Isiah and Isiah’s husband Derek. They are with their three-year-old granddaughter, Arianna, who does not understand yet what has happened to her fathers.

Buddy Lee, Derek’s father, introduces himself to Ike. He thanks Ike for setting up the funeral, then comments on the tattoo on Ike’s hand. The tattoo says “Black God’s ink” and shows a lion with two scimitars, along with the word “RIOT” (6). Buddy Lee tells Ike that he caught Derek kissing another boy when he was 14. Buddy Lee had called him a pervert and whipped him. Ike is uncomfortable with the conversation.

After Buddy Lee leaves, Ike confronts the Reverend Johnson, who gave the service.