

Not all cops are bad cops
Abby, Sparta, NC Everybody thinks that just because there are a couple of crooked cops out there, that all cops are bad. My dad happens...
We plan life so we’re safe.
Jamie Haines, Franklin, VA. As an inter-racial lesbian couple in Virginia, we have to plan carefully. Will that small diner be safe? Can we vacation...
I want to be safe…again
Jun Hu, LA, CA As the anti-Asian hate incidents, reported and unreported, skyrocketing in the COVID-19 pandemic, I no longer feel comfortable to walk outside,...
“Stick out on both sides….safe?”
Belinda, USA The reason I chose the first 6 words “Stick out on both sides…safe?” I have family in Minnesota, where my sisters and I...
Cross street? Or smile? I’m sorry.
Anonymous Berkeley, CA This is the struggle I have inside ever time I am walking alone at night and come across a man or group...
Men I love aren’t safe here
Arlinda Vaughn, Dayton, OH. My partner is a tall, dark muscular black man (with a PHD). When he lived in Texas, the police arrived at...
Almost OK that I am childless
Carol A. Los Angeles, CA As an African American woman of a certain age I feel a sense of failure that our generation has not...
Why is my life worth more?
Jasmine Balsalobre, Oviedo, FL. My appearance does not determine my morals, my passions, my hobbies, my opinions, or my relationships, so how can it determine...
Political climate gave HATE safe space
Kelly Ferrell, Sterling, VA. I am disappointed but not surprised that charismatic politicians have taken the easy route and invested in hate rather than commit...
I’m mad that I’m reflexively racist.
Jordan Weil, Minneapolis, MN. I’m really angry that my first reaction to a young black man is to start checking my surroundings and wondering if...
I want to feel safe and protected
Zoe Evans, St. Louis, MO. When I hear about kids being killed, I feel scared because I’m one.,
Fear and reconciliation: oil and water
Dirk Elting, Honolulu, HI. People cannot reconcile their differences when they do not feel safe. We scare (and anger) one another not only through our...

White baby in the black projects.
Jamie Bishop, Florence, MA. I am a bastard child conceived in the back seat of a Chevrolet in 1965. When I was born, I was...