While living my seventeen, almost eighteen years, I have been declared guilty on several counts of LWB (living while black). There have been so many times in my life that I have been accused of doing wrong. I’ve been made out to be a bad guy or criminal while being a pedestrian, a customer, and just for being me. I was born and raised in Newark, New Jersey; a city riddled with crime but also known for being a melting pot of so many various cultures. So, when I moved out of this setting of Newark, into a more predominantly white area, North Plainfield, I had no issues because I already met all kinds of people. To some of the people there I was the first black person they had ever met. My mother always warned me that in society being a black young man can sometimes put a target on my back, but being naïve and young caused me to dismiss her warnings.
Thinking back on it, I wonder if these were the experiences other young black men such as Michael Brown or Trayvon Martin went through. My mother and I know how lucky I was to make it out of this situation alive. It could have ended much worse, with a cop feeling threatened by a scared black boy who seemed to be resisting. I am thankful for everyday …show more content…
I have learned to be okay with that, because I know who I am and the people who know me know the type of person I am. Others in my family have experienced similar racial profiling as I have and smother the same rage I feel because letting that rage fuel your actions is what continues the circle. That circle of a black man or woman “getting out of hand” and then others feeling threatened by their actions, which then leads to the ideal that black people are dangerous. That ideal is what has police officers on constant guard, and trigger happy and I refuse to let my people continue to be killed, so I told my story and I hope it gives some wisdom to my
Thinking back on it, I wonder if these were the experiences other young black men such as Michael Brown or Trayvon Martin went through. My mother and I know how lucky I was to make it out of this situation alive. It could have ended much worse, with a cop feeling threatened by a scared black boy who seemed to be resisting. I am thankful for everyday …show more content…
I have learned to be okay with that, because I know who I am and the people who know me know the type of person I am. Others in my family have experienced similar racial profiling as I have and smother the same rage I feel because letting that rage fuel your actions is what continues the circle. That circle of a black man or woman “getting out of hand” and then others feeling threatened by their actions, which then leads to the ideal that black people are dangerous. That ideal is what has police officers on constant guard, and trigger happy and I refuse to let my people continue to be killed, so I told my story and I hope it gives some wisdom to my