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The Many Hazards of Living While Black
Very few things can be done while living Black that are not called into question by white America. For example, we, that is Black folk, have known for a very long time (much longer than white folk have been willing to acknowledge), that it is virtually a crime to drive while Black in most places in this country.
Cops will look for reasons to pull a Black person over and give them “the business.” If the Black person responds right, which is decoded to mean, they do not challenge why they were stopped in the first place, they may survive this encounter. Always lurking down the road is yet another encounter. These events can continue until the Black person reachs the breaking point, where they become fed up with the bull, become loud and get indignant over cop harassment.
Sandra Bland taught us the deadly consequences of driving while Black and blacksplaining the rights of a person driving while Black to a cop dead set on whitesplaining the facts of police power to Black folks; shut up and live, or keep running your mouth and die a mysterious death. We’ll let your dead ass try as hard as it can to explain that to your loved ones.
Eric Garner taught us the perils of standing on a street corner while Black. If you are too big to be arrested, the cops will gang up and choke the living breathe out of you. All the while you are…
