Scary Black Men
Am I really that scary? I’m only 5’9’’ 180 pounds. This is what I asked myself when a girl ran away from me as I walked down Ellis Avenue two weeks ago. Initially I was flabbergasted by her reaction. Did I look like a criminal? I had on an under armour shirt and some old basketball shorts because I had just left the gym. Was I doing anything out of the ordinary? No, I was just walking with a tote bag in my hand. From my vantage point I looked like an unassuming University of Chicago student tired from a long day of lectures and treadmills. She started walking briskly after she looked back and saw me behind her around the Midway. By the time I got to 59th and Ellis, she was in front of the Burton Judson Dormitory frantically searching for something in her purse. Maybe it was a key or maybe it was mace. Am I overanalyzing the situation? Maybe she really just had to use the bathroom. All I know is that when she saw me her nonchalant walked instantly changed into a deliberate sprint.
I was so upset about this ordeal that I went to share the story with my friend who is also a Black male student at the University of Chicago. Before I could finish my story he told me the same thing had happened to him. I inadvertently laughed when he told me this. He is about 6’2’ 140 pounds. Could anybody really feel threatened by this rail thin kid who wears Mickey Mouse sweatshirts? His story was similar to mine. One evening he was walking across the Midway when a girl noticed he was behind her and ran away. We sat in his room for hours trying understand what about us was so threatening. The only thing we could think of was the fact that we were both Black males. But, should that be threatening? Or are we socialized to view Black males as nihilistic predators? Interestingly, the girl who ran away from me was Hispanic and the girl who ran away from him was Black.
A few days after our discussion on why we may or may not look like predators, our other Black male friend who attends the University of Chicago shared another sad story. He was walking down Ellis one night when a group of White students looked back, noticed him and sped up. At this point it seemed unreal. I was waiting for him to tell me that he was joking. Sadly, he was serious.
I understand that our very frequent “security alerts” may scare students who’ve never been in an urban environment. It seems like the suspect is always a 5’11” black male in a black shirt and sneakers. However, these alerts seem to lead to glaring generalizations about every Black man they encounter in Hyde Park. By no means am I advocating the discontinuation of the security alert system. I think it plays a vital role in keeping students informed and aware of their surroundings. However, I am saying that I am sick and tired of being looked at like a predator when I walk around campus.
Preach!
Preach!
I believe that it has been an ongoing media campaign to demonize and criminalize the black male. You are literally the new terrorist in America and that is by design. They utilize and I believe even orchestrate stories of crime involving black men to instill fear in the public. First amongst all females and then even males of other racial backgrounds. This I have watched and analyzed over a period of years through the eyes of my own daughter. By age 10 I observed a firmly established response of fear to black males in my daughter when confronted with the black male presence on the street. Particularly young black men. She has no traumatic experiences to draw from. Only through watching TV could this have occurred if it was not an attitude exhibited in our home, which it was not. She is now ready to turn 22 and when I look out at how this fear of black males has evolved today it is astounding. Just recently she told me that she often feels that black men are out to do her harm and she didn’t know why. Subtle programming is the answer for me. Even I’ve found myself feeling apprehensive on the streets at night when an unknown black male is in sight as opposed to a white one. Recently I noticed that my response extended to the Latin male with the growing Hispanic population in New York. Their are drug deals, murder and raping of women stories coming out of Mexico all the time while more of the Mexican population pours into the US. I don’t blame them, I recognize that I am under the influence of the media programming which is now the basis for how we form our opinions. We are not thinking independently, critically or really analyzing the objectives behind how we (black males and women) are portrayed in the media. If only we turned off the TV, avoided the news papers and gossip we could began to clear the cloudy judgments we make about one another. And just maybe, maybe, see the truth of what’s really happening in our world and energize change.
I believe that it has been an ongoing media campaign to demonize and criminalize the black male. You are literally the new terrorist in America and that is by design. They utilize and I believe even orchestrate stories of crime involving black men to instill fear in the public. First amongst all females and then even males of other racial backgrounds. This I have watched and analyzed over a period of years through the eyes of my own daughter. By age 10 I observed a firmly established response of fear to black males in my daughter when confronted with the black male presence on the street. Particularly young black men. She has no traumatic experiences to draw from. Only through watching TV could this have occurred if it was not an attitude exhibited in our home, which it was not. She is now ready to turn 22 and when I look out at how this fear of black males has evolved today it is astounding. Just recently she told me that she often feels that black men are out to do her harm and she didn’t know why. Subtle programming is the answer for me. Even I’ve found myself feeling apprehensive on the streets at night when an unknown black male is in sight as opposed to a white one. Recently I noticed that my response extended to the Latin male with the growing Hispanic population in New York. Their are drug deals, murder and raping of women stories coming out of Mexico all the time while more of the Mexican population pours into the US. I don’t blame them, I recognize that I am under the influence of the media programming which is now the basis for how we form our opinions. We are not thinking independently, critically or really analyzing the objectives behind how we (black males and women) are portrayed in the media. If only we turned off the TV, avoided the news papers and gossip we could began to clear the cloudy judgments we make about one another. And just maybe, maybe, see the truth of what’s really happening in our world and energize change.
Ed, my first blog addressed this issue. Titled, can fear be justified. I spoke about the racial issues from my first year at University of Chicago. Now that we are both second years, its not surprising to know that things have not changed much. But I will pose the question again (if the answer is not obvious at this point)…If this fear justified?
Ed, my first blog addressed this issue. Titled, can fear be justified. I spoke about the racial issues from my first year at University of Chicago. Now that we are both second years, its not surprising to know that things have not changed much. But I will pose the question again (if the answer is not obvious at this point)…If this fear justified?
As a white male who is not afraid of you, Ed, I would argue that at the University of Chicago, in particular, there is a culture that people should be afraid of the neighborhood in which they live.
However, I think it’s difficult to determine when people are afraid, or when you project that fear onto them. For example, had this girl really needed to go to the bathroom, she would have done that regardless. She may not have been afraid of you, but the normal circumstance, the societal norm dictates that she would have been.
I will concede that many of my white friends are literally terrified of black people, especially when they aren’t wearing a suit. It’s certainly not justified, it’s irrational and it’s evidently very disconcerting to those who are being feared, but the fear persists nonetheless.
I think the sad answer to the question rests on the fact that when it’s dark outside, people tend to become incredibly over-cautious. If they don’t recognize a person they may soon confront, they might immediately feel uncomfortable, particularly if that person has any physical differences from themselves. It takes courage for people to relax in an urban environment, especially in one rumored to be so dangerous.
So, is this fear justified? Yes, but on a shaky pretense; that we should be afraid of people who are unfamiliar or different from ourselves.
As a white male who is not afraid of you, Ed, I would argue that at the University of Chicago, in particular, there is a culture that people should be afraid of the neighborhood in which they live.
However, I think it’s difficult to determine when people are afraid, or when you project that fear onto them. For example, had this girl really needed to go to the bathroom, she would have done that regardless. She may not have been afraid of you, but the normal circumstance, the societal norm dictates that she would have been.
I will concede that many of my white friends are literally terrified of black people, especially when they aren’t wearing a suit. It’s certainly not justified, it’s irrational and it’s evidently very disconcerting to those who are being feared, but the fear persists nonetheless.
I think the sad answer to the question rests on the fact that when it’s dark outside, people tend to become incredibly over-cautious. If they don’t recognize a person they may soon confront, they might immediately feel uncomfortable, particularly if that person has any physical differences from themselves. It takes courage for people to relax in an urban environment, especially in one rumored to be so dangerous.
So, is this fear justified? Yes, but on a shaky pretense; that we should be afraid of people who are unfamiliar or different from ourselves.
My African American son is 16 years old. Living on the southside of Chicago. I remember the evening I was taking him to his grandmothers. We stopped at one of those clothes deposit boxes. After he made his deposit I glanced up to see this figures running towards my car. In an instant I felt fear. Then I realized it was my baby!! We had a long talk that evening before he went to grandma’s. About running, society and stereotyping. He told me it is not fair..and it isn’t. But this is how it is…
My African American son is 16 years old. Living on the southside of Chicago. I remember the evening I was taking him to his grandmothers. We stopped at one of those clothes deposit boxes. After he made his deposit I glanced up to see this figures running towards my car. In an instant I felt fear. Then I realized it was my baby!! We had a long talk that evening before he went to grandma’s. About running, society and stereotyping. He told me it is not fair..and it isn’t. But this is how it is…
I have another “scary black men” story for you.
I was checking out at the Walgreen’s at 55th and Lake Park. My cashier, a middle-aged black man, was a bit pensive about something. He looks up at me and says “Let me ask you a question…if I told you that I was a gangsta, would you think that I was being serious?”
I was taken a bit by surprise. I responded with a no, and he seemed to relax. He explained that he was joking with a friend while some customers were checking out. He yelled at his friend something along the lines of him being a gangsta. The customers, two white women, looked at him as if they were mortified. The cashier explained his confusion at the concept. He didn’t perceive of himself as at all resembling a gangsta – he assumed that the fact that he had a job was enough to count him out of that camp.
Apparently not in Hyde Park.
I have another “scary black men” story for you.
I was checking out at the Walgreen’s at 55th and Lake Park. My cashier, a middle-aged black man, was a bit pensive about something. He looks up at me and says “Let me ask you a question…if I told you that I was a gangsta, would you think that I was being serious?”
I was taken a bit by surprise. I responded with a no, and he seemed to relax. He explained that he was joking with a friend while some customers were checking out. He yelled at his friend something along the lines of him being a gangsta. The customers, two white women, looked at him as if they were mortified. The cashier explained his confusion at the concept. He didn’t perceive of himself as at all resembling a gangsta – he assumed that the fact that he had a job was enough to count him out of that camp.
Apparently not in Hyde Park.
I know this is an older post, but I just came across it and had to respond.
I’m a young white female engaged to a young black male, but I cannot relate to your stories. But I can offer up the other side and I know my fiancé would agree with me on this…
It’s better to be safe, than sorry.
It is a sad, scary, strange world out there right now and unfortunately it’s hard to trust anybody, especially if you’re a young female and all alone. Consider stories on the evening news about young college students who are murdered by their friend and their boyfriends let alone by strangers…We’ve been taught (women, especially) to be skeptical of anyone and EVERYONE, it is sad that racial stereotypes play into it, but truly, I think many women agree that if they’re walking alone (especially at night) and there is a man, regardless of his ethnicity or what he is wearing, behind them, they will be VERY aware, and very cautious.
When I was in school and walking to my dorm late at night I carried a small, sharp object in my purse and would always have my hand on it (inside my purse, of course) if there was anyone walking near me. I never needed to pull it out, but I was always very cautious, just in case. It was a time when many young women were being pulled under cars and raped by an unknown in a ski mask.
The running seems a bit much on the part of that woman you encountered, but you have to believe that it was nothing personal, nothing against you or your background, unfortunately it is simply a matter of your sex.
I know this is an older post, but I just came across it and had to respond.
I’m a young white female engaged to a young black male, but I cannot relate to your stories. But I can offer up the other side and I know my fiancé would agree with me on this…
It’s better to be safe, than sorry.
It is a sad, scary, strange world out there right now and unfortunately it’s hard to trust anybody, especially if you’re a young female and all alone. Consider stories on the evening news about young college students who are murdered by their friend and their boyfriends let alone by strangers…We’ve been taught (women, especially) to be skeptical of anyone and EVERYONE, it is sad that racial stereotypes play into it, but truly, I think many women agree that if they’re walking alone (especially at night) and there is a man, regardless of his ethnicity or what he is wearing, behind them, they will be VERY aware, and very cautious.
When I was in school and walking to my dorm late at night I carried a small, sharp object in my purse and would always have my hand on it (inside my purse, of course) if there was anyone walking near me. I never needed to pull it out, but I was always very cautious, just in case. It was a time when many young women were being pulled under cars and raped by an unknown in a ski mask.
The running seems a bit much on the part of that woman you encountered, but you have to believe that it was nothing personal, nothing against you or your background, unfortunately it is simply a matter of your sex.