I can still hear her scream. I remember the man falling as he ran past me. Now I think about that night every time I hear about someone calling the police on a person whose only 'transgression' is being black out in public. And each time it happens I find myself wondering where the church stands on this issue.
I thought about that night most recently after hearing the news that employees of a Portland, Oregon DoubleTree Hotel called the police on one of the hotel's guests. The guest, a black man, was in the hotel's lobby talking on his phone. Even after showing his key card and envelope with room number and check in date, Jermaine Massey was asked to leave. Portland police escorted him to his room where he retrieved his things. The officers then offered to help Massey find another hotel but he declined their help.
According to different media outlets the employees involved were fired. Most likely we will never hear their explanation as to why they needed to call the police on Mr. Massey. Most likely the explanation involves fear or suspicion based not on the actions of a hotel guest but upon what he looked like. We can only speculate on this as we have had to do so many times in 2018: as we had to do when police were called to a Philadelphia coffee shop where two men were waiting for a business associate. In the same way I can only speculate on what those women were thinking that night on a Philly subway platform.
I was in college at the time, headed home after a late night hanging out with some friends. Here in Philly we have a station where two subway trains meet. I entered the station for the Market-Frankford Elevated (the east-west train) and walked towards the passage that would take me to the Broad Street line (the north-south train). Along the way I saw two white women sitting on a bench while waiting for their train. As I passed both women wrapped their arms around their purses pulling them closer to their chests. I ignored them having no interest in their purses or their persons. My only concern was being on time for my next train.
As I reached the passage connecting the train platforms I heard a scream. Shortly thereafter a white man ran by me, tripping and falling a few steps beyond. He quickly jumped up and ran forward towards the Broad Street Line. Not until he turned the corner did I realize he was carrying a purse. By then it was too late, I would not have been able to catch him had I given chase. I hate to admit it but my first thought was “Ha, that’s what you get!” My second thought was that it was in my best interest to walk home instead of waiting for the train. I figured standing on the platform could only mean having to talk to the police. Under the circumstances I thought it best not to hang around. (I admit my own biases lead me to the wrong conclusions in both cases.)
Other than being black I have no idea what I had done that made the women clutch their purses so tightly as I walked by. I can only speculate about what they were thinking about me or about the white man who came later. Were they more comfortable around the white man before he mugged them? Did this comfort leave them vulnerable? Whatever the reason they were afraid of the wrong person that night.
Fear and stereotypical beliefs contribute to people calling the police on blacks who are doing nothing more than living. This is a heart issue. As such it is time for the body of Christ to decide where it stands. The church teaches that Jesus changes the heart for the better. His church needs to speak out as it has against discrimination in the past. We need to tell people how skin color is not an indication of criminal intent. The church needs to speak to the cultural change we need to see before another innocent citizen is harmed by a false report of a crime. It's time for the church to stand up.
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