"How Race is Lived in America"

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So I returned to Bmore on Sunday night, and had an early morning breakfast scheduled for Monday. I also knew that I had my internship from 11 til 5. After breakfast, I went back to my room to make my lunch. Then I headed out to take the 2 buses that I normally take to my internship.

Unluckily, for me it was raining. It wasn't a hard rain but a steady rain. I called mi madre to have her check the bus schedules to see how long I'd be standing on the bus stop. As I stood there a woman rolled up in a Volvo station wagon, rolled down the window, and yelled from the passenger side, "You want a ride?"

For a moment I thought I don't know this woman from Eve, and she could for all I know abduct and kill me. Then I looked at her again and said naw I could handle myself. So I went up to the car and asked, "Where are you going?"

She replied, "I'm going downtown" and I needed to get about a mile down the road. So I said, "O.K. I'm going to Hopkins which is about a mile down."

Then she told me to yell for the other kid who was standing on the bus stop like me. I didn't know him from Adam.

So imagine this two black boys jumping into a Volvo of this woman in a pretty nice and bougie section of Bmore. Once we jumped in she said, "I just felt so bad for you guys because it was raining out, and I didn't see a bus. I'm from New York and I'm just used to seeing buses, and then you have the trains. Here they don't seem to come as often."

"They don't," I replied.

As I looked over at her I thought this woman is really brave, courageous, giving, or just really naiive. Imagine the picture white middle aged woman with nice short haircut, D & G eyeglasses, driving a current model Volvo station wagon, with two black boys riding through North Baltimore.

If it seems like I'm harping on race it's because you don't see that picture every day. I was just so shocked that she thought to stop.

When I hopped out at my stopped I thanked her for the ride and went about my business. I called my mom and told what happened, and she said some people just have a good heart, and they have a sense which prevents them from encountering danger.

Throughout the day I thought about the woman and her generosity. Since I work at a T.V. station I said hey, sadly, if something were to happen to her I'd be the first to know because of the scanners and the wires. I didn't hear anything or see anything so I trust she was okay.

Here in Bmore, a city of over 600,000, we're a city of neighborhoods. While there are mixed race neighborhoods like Charles Village, there are also some neighborhoods where you'll find mostly black people or mostly white people.

The neighborhood near my internship is a mostly white neighborhood called Hampden. Now of course not everyone who lives in Hampden thinks a certain way about people of different races, one of my cool co-workers lives there. But when I take the shuttle through the neighborhood to get down to where I can walk back to school, I get looks. I'm walking around with my shoulder bag, lunch bag, and generally shirt and tie. Still that doesn't stock them from the funny looks when I'm often the only black man on the shuttle.

Race still matters. I'm going to forever be a BMW black man working or black man walking.

Race still matters. There's still a need to bridge the gaps and bridge the divides.

It's not bad that we talk about race and acknowledge the elephant in the room, we just need to bridge the divides and not increase them.

Race still matters. We have to acknowledge those stereotypes, prejudices, and other imperfect realities.

It's cool that I've gone from schools which are mostly black to mostly white, that I've migrated through situations which have allowed me to see people for people. Yet, I'll be the first to admit that I still sometimes make my perceptions reality. I'm an imperfect person who just needs to remember to see people for people.