I went on a work outing to the movies once. All my white coworkers wanted to sneak food in. I told them we'd get searched. Searched? They had no idea what I was talking about. Halfway through the conversation, we silently realized the issue. They were white and I was black. 1/4
At one point, I was on a mission to crack the code of not getting searched at my local movie theater. T-shirt? Professional clothes? Smiling as I approached? It didn't matter. I got searched every time. I got more and more angry about the petty unfairness of it all. 2/4
Eventually, I stopped going to the movies, an activity that I loved, because it was a reminder that no matter how I dressed or acted race was always going to be an issue with some people. The next big theater was too far away and I didn't need to subject myself to that. 3/4
Hopelessness about race issues can seep into the rest of your life. People ask how a black man with a significant degree of privilege can still feel downtrodden. This is how. There are numerous humiliating reminders ranging from the mundane to the lethal. 4/4
