“Lock your car while driving downtown.”

Michelle Allen,
Grand Rapids, MI.

I took drivers education in the summer of 1997, during a time when my hometown (a predominantly conservative, Christian Dutch community) was starting to become more heterogeneous. This lesson about locking my doors while driving downtown was strongly emphasized by my (white male) drivers ed teachers. It wasn’t until finishing my college education and studying multicultural literature that I realized what this message implied: African-American men on the streets of the city were a threat to young, white girls. My drivers ed teacher implied that merely by driving downtown – even in broad daylight – I was at risk of being mugged, raped, kidnapped, and murdered if I forgot to lock my door. Today, I commute to a job in the city, but I rarely lock my doors. I’m thankful that my liberal arts college education has helped me to recognize and transcend the earlier message imposed on me.