The Race Card Project
By Michele Norris
David B. Berenson,
Cleveland, OH.
All but one person with whom I shared the story of getting “mugged” asked of their race, and it began to pi** me off. I had to find a way to put the whole experience into perspective.
Lynne Moffitt,
Virginia Beach, VA.
When I was living in Louisville, I came home from work and was mugged when I got out of my car. I had looked around before I got out and this nice young man was walking down the sidewalk. He looked like a typical University of Louisville student which was only blocks from my apartment. He didn’t speed up or slow down but we just naturally intersected when I got to the sidewalk. He told me not to say anything and I knew then I was being attacked. I screamed and he hit me in the face, knocked me down and stole my purse. Many of my neighbors came out to assist me and some even gave chase to my attacker but didn’t catch him. I noticed whenever I told the story I didn’t mention his race as it was not relevant but many people wanted to know it. As if that made any kind of difference. Mostly they asked, “was he black?” I don’t think anyone has ever asked if he was white or Hispanic or Asian. And were visibly disappointed when I would answer no since they wanted to talk about how afraid we should all be of black young men. So I discovered that those who asked usually turned out to be racist. So now I use my story as a quick way of weeding out those I don’t wish to become closer with.
Jonathan Osmundsen,
Washington, DC.
I appreciate some of the coverage that’s focused on the Baltimore riots, and issues that influenced an explosion of pent up anger. That frustration is valid, those wrongs must be corrected. Here’s the “but”…
I’ve not heard one NPR story that mentioned the burning of a 60-unit building by rioters, which a church had intended for local seniors. I find it very frustrating to hear a person complain about racism, and then turn around and behave in a racist manner. Burning a business because it’s Korean, or Chinese, or anything else but ones own race is racist, isn’t it?
Yet this is something that, if I bring up as a white person, is automatically discounted as “out of touch” or somehow racist. I’ve been mugged several times growing up in NYC in the 70s. I’ve had friends who were victims of crime in NYC, DC, LA. Each time it was by an African American male.
Finally, when I was on a Grand Jury, there was another common element to the story. In bad DC neighborhoods that were majority African American, nobody ever saw or heard anything related to crimes. Somehow, it’s seen as a stand-up thing not to snitch, but that gives a pass to criminals and murderers who got out of jail, and returned to being that small percentage of a population that keeps the neighborhood down. Not the police, but the criminals (who are then excused because of the environment in which they were raised).
I understand that we need to help out this high-risk group of men and support that effort. But part of supporting the effort is embracing the whole of reality, even if that makes for a difficult conversation that might even risk branding one racist. I don’t think I am–if I was, I’d hope to grow out of it and mature my perspective. I guess that’s what I’m trying to do.
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.
Alison Blomster
Minneapolis, MN
I think there are some healthy reasons why stereotypes of black male teens exist. After being mugged by 5 black teenage boys wearing hooded parkas, I can understand the fear that any other person, of any skin color could feel when confronted by a black male teen whose eyes cannot be seen. I am also sad and frankly, disillusioned that this same attention isn’t given to black teens who kill other black teens, which happens far more frequently. Why is that? To me this has turned into a race issue, when I think it’s really a gun issue.
Jann Patterson
Hayden, ID
The major bad things that have happened to me were because of black people. I was mugged by a group of black teens and my son had a gun held to his head at work by a pair of black thieves. I am afraid of black people that I don’t know well and I would not approach a black person accept in a public place. I notice color and I don’t apologize for that. Black people notice color too. They openly voted for Obama simply because he’s black, but they are not called racist. I voted against Obama by voting for Romney because of Obama’s policies. I am called racist by some because I did not vote for Obama even though I consider myself a democrat. I did not vote for Obama the first time because he’s black. I did not vote for Obama the second time because he isn’t doing a good job.
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