I think it CAN be hard to be black (even now), in ways that white people do not always understand.
True Story:
I was friends for years with a black man my age. We played pool at the Billiards Club and hit the nightspots.
More than once I watched white guys try to pick fights with him, but he always defused the situation and was the bigger man. He was intelligent, the son of university professors, and always a gentleman.
Three years ago, around New Years Day, I heard a police report stating that four officers had killed a suspect while attempting to take him into custody.
Not thinking anything of it, I tried to call his cell phone, but only got his voicemail, which was full.
The following day, I heard his name on the news, and received the shock of my life: it was Les who was killed.
The police report said that he was running down the street naked and that he resisted arrest.
They also said he was 6'3" and 280 lbs. I know that to be a blatant lie, as he was considerably smaller than me, so it threw into doubt any other claims they made.
His parents could not have an open casket funeral because he had been beaten so severely that the morticians could not make him appear normal.
The four officers, all white, went through the usual internal investigation and were found innocent of any wrongdoing.
I expect we'll never know what happened that night, but to my mind, it stinks to high heaven.
So when you say that it is difficult for white folk to understand the black experience, you are correct, but in light of stories such as this one, the words seem awfully small. |
