Robert Stephens, 26, Kansas City, MO
“It was the last day of school, and I was walking with my dad, preparing to leave. Suddenly, he paused, looked at me intently and said, “Son, you’re a black male, and that’s two strikes against you.” To the general public, anything that I did would be perceived as malicious and deserving of severe punishment and I had to govern myself accordingly. I was seven years old.”
February is Black History Month. A good time for me to shatter the illusions of white privilege. (Image from pinterest)
One Woman's Quest II 
Oh my gosh. What a harsh and heartbreaking lesson for any parent to have to impart on their child.
I just read an article “Black History Month essay: Tony McKegney” at NHL.com. Tony is my late husband’s cousin who was the first black player to score 40 goals in one season in the NHL. He spoke of the racism experienced, how it affects you as a person and how he didn’t want to always be viewed through the lens of race. Sadly, some 30+ years on very little has changed.
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It is sad and the reason we need to keep the issue in the limelight.
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Absolutely!
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My dad was the same way. I was ashamed of his racist attitude. Thank goodness my mother wasn’t that way.
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They were such ignorant times. Slowly we have moved away from that.
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Heartbreaking.
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It truly is. Thanks for reading.
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You are welcome.
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That is so terribly sad.
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Agreed Kate.
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I can’t imagine how that must affect a child growing up. What a heartbreaking story.
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It truly is. I remember the day a friend called me to say her son was being racially profiled by police. We live in a very conservative town and I had never heard of such a thing at the time. Years later, the young man suffers severe anxiety and depression as a result of the trauma he’s been through at the hands of local police. It is heartbreaking.
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It is. A student I had in the writing process last fall wrote his personal narrative on being racially profiled by the local police, with the same result as your friend’s son.
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This is so powerful! Thanks for sharing it! 🙂 ❤
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It really makes you think.
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Yes! 🙂 ❤
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