I received a call from my brother as he was on his way to visit our parents. This is how our conversation started.
Me: "Wassup man. How's the drive? Brother Darkness: "I just got pulled over." Me: "Shit."
While being pulled over while driving is not something that's exclusive to Black people, the fear, humiliation, and subsequent impotent fury is something that Black people know intimately. For those who answer the call of a loved one that has been pulled over by police, it is the grateful rush of being able to hear their voice, and then the overprotective drive to confirm their physical and mental well-being. For Black America, being pulled over is not just a typical event that happens when you break a traffic law. It is a traumatic event defined by decades of unjustified racial profiling, unlawful searches and seizures, and unprosecuted acts of physical and mental harm inflicted upon undeserving citizens. Even with the advent of live video feeds and body cameras, we have watched as the majority of these acts go unpunished with the perpetrator back on the beat. All of this goes through our minds as soon as we see a cop on the highway. Every scenario of what getting stopped may entail spins off like a high speed movie. We check our speed. Make sure our registration is handy. Check the inspection sticker in the window. Not because we're doing anything wrong. Not because we are afraid of a ticket. Not because we may have been speeding, but because of what might happen. This, my friends, is a trauma response.
Me: "What happened?"
Brother Darkness: "This cop pulled on side of me, kinda stayed there for a while without passing, then got behind me. After a couple of minutes, he turned on his lights."
Me: "For what?"
Brother Darkness: "This is the crazy part. When he came up to the window, I asked why he pulled me over, and he asked me to get out the car and come take a look. I got out and walked to the back of the car, and he pointed at the aftermarket camera on my plate and said that I had to take it off because it was blocking part of the "Louisiana" on the plate."
Seems simple enough, but apparently the officer involved had other plans. After getting my brother's license and registration, he proceeds to question him like driving on the interstate is a crime. Where are you from? Where are you going? Why were you in Houston? How long are you going to be in Louisiana? Who's car is this? What do you do for a living? These are the actual questions that were asked. Not by a customs officer at the border, but a local Louisiana patrolman. The officer proceeds to run my brother's information through dispatch and asks if he can search the vehicle, but gives no reason why. My brother, after a bombardment of nonsensical questioning, gives consent, hoping that he can get back on the road and home faster. As the officer is tossing his trunk, backseat, and console, he is still going along with the asinine questioning. Are these Yeezys real? Don't they cost $800? Who's car is this? Where are you going again?
For 45 minutes, my brother had to endure questioning without reason, a search without cause, and a stop with no violation. Along with being asked if his car belonged to him four times (his name is literally on the registration), my brother was accused of being a felon, accused of being arrested for domestic violence multiple times, and accused of having drug charges. None of which are remotely true. In order to not antagonize a cop that was obviously and maliciously targeting a Black man, hoping to get a response he can act on, my brother had to swallow his pride in order to hopefully walk away without an altercation.
How many of us have had to do the same thing? How many of us have endured the humiliation of being profiled and judged without cause? According to the ACLU, "Racial profiling is a longstanding and deeply troubling national problem despite claims that the United States has entered a 'post-racial era'." Many of our friends and colleagues have never had to go through this, that's why it comes as such a shock to them when it happens. They can't understand why someone who would take an oath to "Protect and Serve" would go out of their way to harm someone not deserving. We know why. As a society we cannot be disassociated from reality to think that racism and prejudice do not exist. It exists. With clear and present dangers. I thank God that my brother walked away unscathed, but how many other brothers did not. How many other brothers have been beaten for "mistaken identity", arrested for resisting an unlawful arrest, or left bleeding in the street because they were deemed a "threat" because of the the way they looked. In 2020, there is no reason for this to still be happening, but yet it is.
Cuz I’m black, with locs, and I’m a big guy???? It’s equally frustrating each time it happens....After 45 minutes of questions, searching, and accusations, trying to get a response, I got "Have a good day, sir." Never an apology for racial profiling. - Brother Darkness
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