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172 · 03-14-2009, 08:33 AM

The flip side of that...since this thread is entitled "Racism in America".

As a black, female, graduate student, I want everyone to know that there is a chasm between whites and blacks. Often unspoken, often unacknowledged. Yet, black people deal with it as a reality in their lives. I have spoken with friends of mine who happen to be white who really felt that nobody gets discriminated against JUST because of their skin color.

Unfortunately, this is untrue. This happens all the time. I was just followed in a department store two days ago while I was trying on dresses for an upcoming vacation. And, he waited for me outside the dressing rooms. He followed me through the racks. He waited for me at the door while I checked out, presumably in case the alarms were going to go off when I left...he was going to be ready.

Ironically, I didn't even think much of it and wasn't upset because it's not nearly the first time I've been followed in a store and it certainly will not be the last. He wasn't looking for my pedigree. He didn't assume I could be a law student (which I am). He didn't look into my eyes to see all of the years and years of sacrifice and encouragement and support that my parents and family have raised me with. All he saw was a black girl with a bunch of dresses and he determined I was a sure bet to be a thief.

My father has been pulled over countless times...because he's a black man with a nice car who lives in a white suburb. One of my black law professors was held by FOUR officers with guns drawn in his own YARD in broad daylight after coming from the alleyway behind his house (where he was picking up trash that had been left). He lives in a very prestigious historical district. All of his neighbors tried to tell the officers "he lives here! he's a law professor"...but they were steady pulling his arms behind his back.

PROFILING is real and it happens to most if not all blacks as a matter of course.

What if your son, who is as gentle as a kitten, but wearing a hoodie and baggy jeans, scares the living daylights out of a white person just because he steps on the elevator with him? They can't SEE all of the love and guidance you've placed in him....and you know what? He still won't get the benefit of the doubt...if he's black. You'll clutch your purse tighter, or lock your doors or cross the street. This kind of thing was addressed in the movie CRASH.

I cannot speak for all blacks, but I will say that overwhelmingly, the blacks with whom I have spoken about profiling all feel the same sentiment...that we wish white people would accept and acknowledge that it does happen. Most don't. They refuse to believe it. Refuse to admit it. Refuse to accept it and tell us we are paranoid. But, remember, we are only 45 years up from Jim Crow. That's a drop in the bucket of social evolution. Things have changed with race relations, but there is much that remains unchanged and, sadly, unchallenged.

03-14-2009, 08:33 AM	#17 (permalink)
172 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Somewhere in the cycle Posts: 200	The flip side of that...since this thread is entitled "Racism in America". As a black, female, graduate student, I want everyone to know that there is a chasm between whites and blacks. Often unspoken, often unacknowledged. Yet, black people deal with it as a reality in their lives. I have spoken with friends of mine who happen to be white who really felt that nobody gets discriminated against JUST because of their skin color. Unfortunately, this is untrue. This happens all the time. I was just followed in a department store two days ago while I was trying on dresses for an upcoming vacation. And, he waited for me outside the dressing rooms. He followed me through the racks. He waited for me at the door while I checked out, presumably in case the alarms were going to go off when I left...he was going to be ready. Ironically, I didn't even think much of it and wasn't upset because it's not nearly the first time I've been followed in a store and it certainly will not be the last. He wasn't looking for my pedigree. He didn't assume I could be a law student (which I am). He didn't look into my eyes to see all of the years and years of sacrifice and encouragement and support that my parents and family have raised me with. All he saw was a black girl with a bunch of dresses and he determined I was a sure bet to be a thief. My father has been pulled over countless times...because he's a black man with a nice car who lives in a white suburb. One of my black law professors was held by FOUR officers with guns drawn in his own YARD in broad daylight after coming from the alleyway behind his house (where he was picking up trash that had been left). He lives in a very prestigious historical district. All of his neighbors tried to tell the officers "he lives here! he's a law professor"...but they were steady pulling his arms behind his back. PROFILING is real and it happens to most if not all blacks as a matter of course. What if your son, who is as gentle as a kitten, but wearing a hoodie and baggy jeans, scares the living daylights out of a white person just because he steps on the elevator with him? They can't SEE all of the love and guidance you've placed in him....and you know what? He still won't get the benefit of the doubt...if he's black. You'll clutch your purse tighter, or lock your doors or cross the street. This kind of thing was addressed in the movie CRASH. I cannot speak for all blacks, but I will say that overwhelmingly, the blacks with whom I have spoken about profiling all feel the same sentiment...that we wish white people would accept and acknowledge that it does happen. Most don't. They refuse to believe it. Refuse to admit it. Refuse to accept it and tell us we are paranoid. But, remember, we are only 45 years up from Jim Crow. That's a drop in the bucket of social evolution. Things have changed with race relations, but there is much that remains unchanged and, sadly, unchallenged.