DUers of Color: Tell Your Story [View all]

[EffieBlack]

There have been several discussions the past few days about the incident in which two black men were arrested for "defiant trespass" at a Starbucks on the command of a white manager because they didn't buy anything while waiting for a friend. Some of the discussions have been very interesting and enlightening, but there has also been a very troubling level of dismissal by some who have denied the existence of rampant discrimination against African Americans - in fact, some have actually blamed US for not being more compliant with the police or for unfairly blaming white people for racism where it doesn't exist.

It is clear that, despite considering themselves progressives, many Democrats just aren't aware of the racial dynamics in this country, perhaps because they've never actually experienced or witnessed it themselves.

So, I thought it would be helpful for DUers of color to tell our stories, to offer examples of how we've encountered discrimination, profiling or other indignities and to describe how this felt and/or how it affected you.

I also invite white DUers to share incidents that they have witnessed affecting their minority friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, etc.

I suggest this, not to start any kind of racial battle on this board, but to help more people understand the situation we've been trying to describe and address.

If you don't have a story to share that can help illuminate this discussion, please simply read and think about the posts without pushing back on them. Please don't step in to challenge or argue with any of us who are trying to tell our stories. This thread is not intended to start any argument or any kind of flame war. I am trying to help people LEARN.

Please let this be a positive learning experience for all of us.

So, I'll start -

I have so many examples - it could be a book - it's hard to pick one, but here goes:

A few years ago, I parked in my reserved parking spot at work. When I got out of my car, I was approached by a middle-aged white man I'd seen around the building before. He told me that space was reserved and that I would have to move my car. I politely told him that I was fine parking there, but thank you. He insisted that I move, that I wasn't supposed to be there. I again told him that I was fine parking there and started toward the building. He jumped in front of me, essentially body-blocking me and told me that if I didn't move my car right now, dammit, he was going to have it towed. I said nothing, walked around him and went to work.

When I got to my office, I picked up the phone and called his boss and told him what happened. His boss was mortified. He called me back a few minutes later to tell me that he had read the guy the riot act. "Do you know who she is?! She is MY boss's boss's BOSS!. You just rolled up and confronted the MOST SENIOR PERSON IN THE ORGANIZATION!"

Yes, this middle-level manager, about four rungs down the organizational chart from me, felt perfectly entitled to tell me, a senior executive who was parking in MY OWN DAMNED SPACE that I had no right to park there, demanded that I move and threatened me physically. No one will ever be able to convince me that he would have done this - or even THINK of doing this - to a white person, male or female. He saw my black face and it never even occurred to him that it was even possible that I deserved to be there. And he felt that he had all the right in the world to challenge me.

His boss asked me if I thought the man should be reprimanded. I told him no - he probably didn't know any better but having something this embarrassing happen to him probably got his attention. I suggest that he send him to diversity and inclusion training, which he did.

I left not long after that so I don't know what happened to him. But I do like to think that every time he remembers this incident, he cringes and is reminded not to make judgments about people of color and certainly not to wave his privilege around in our faces.

Fortunately, in this situation, I was in a position to address the situation and shut him down. Many of us don't have that advantage. But it's an example of how these attitudes affect people of color, regardless where we are on the socio-economic ladder.

Ok, y'all - YOUR TURN