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Great question. First, all these folks wondering about what to tell their kids... I had to discuss the Ahmaud Arbery situation with my girls and my 11 year old looked at me with fear in her eyes and said “be careful running, Dad.” So... yeah. Anyway... https://twitter.com/sbe1976/status/1347975527295016960
I do the same thing my dad taught me when I was six or seven: being a Black man in America means you have to justify your presence, your presence is suspicious. Where most folks can run and ignore folks, I have to stop and talk and engage. I have to let them know I’m not a threat
Whenever I move into a new place, I introduce myself to my neighbors: “Hey, I’m Terry. I’m just moving in. I’ve got a lot of crap, so you’ll see me moving it in after I get off of work.” I set the expectation that you might see me with a box in my hands after dark.
Same thing at a new job or new anything. I’m overly pleasant. I’m jovial. I dress conservatively. Why? Per my brother: there’s less of a chance people will call the police on Carlton than on Will.
You’re probably thinking “that seems like a lot!” It is! But I would rather do that than become a hashtag. I’d rather put on a minstrel show than have the police called. I’d rather coon it up than have a misunderstanding.
More likely than not, the Black guy you work with, the neighbor, perhaps even the Black guy you’d consider a friend doesn’t want to be funny and smiling all the time. We’re just trying to not get harassed, shot or worse.
