We Never Got a First Chance

Posted August 20, 2014

The other day I had a scary experience that I and many black women experience over the course of our lifetimes. My partner, a dark-skinned, young, African American man, was walking the 6 blocks over to my house from his house late after work when he was followed by the police and a K-9 dog, profiling him to see if he was up to no good. As he walked, he could feel their presence, the dog’s nostrils sniffing for something wrong, and his sense of safety quickly disappearing.

Thankfully, he got to me safely and without incident but we know that this is a common reality in our community. How many black women like me, wait scared until their sons, uncles, brothers, and partners, come home from an errand, shopping, or work? Recent events in Ferguson, New York and even here in the Twin Cities, remind us, people of color, that we still have a reason to worry about our loved ones’ safety.

We have a justice system that is designed in a way to rob our communities of a fair first chance. My partner’s story is one that shows how young black men in this country are assumed to be “up to no good” and therefore need to be over-patrolled, profiled, and controlled in order to ensure everyone’s “safety”.… Continue reading »