“My son never felt like there was anywhere in Berkeley that was unsafe to walk,” his mother, Michelle Rode-Smith, told Berkeleyside on Monday.
************************************
I often read or hear it said that blacks tell their kids about walking while being black—well, I’m telling whites, maybe we need to have that talk with white kids.
“My son never felt like there was anywhere in Berkeley that was unsafe to walk,” his mother, Michelle Rode-Smith, told Berkeleyside on Monday.
That was dangerously naive, even 50 years ago.
Again I ask who is safer, a Black Kid walking through a White Neighborhood or a White Kid walking through a Black Neighborhood?
I always laugh at that. I grew up in a town that borders on Camden, NJ. Look it up, bad, bad, bad place. My neighborhood was very safe because the cops made a point of being very visible. But if I dared to walk too far towards Camden I quickly became very nervious. One time when I was about 12 a couple of black dudes walked past me and then one ran back and punched me in the head, knocking me off my feet. Another time around the same period I was walking to visit my grandmother and two block guys with snow shovels told me to hand over all my money or they'd beat me with them.
Walking while being white is never brought up as an issue, but there ya go.
we CAN’T tell our kids about the reality...right?....we’d be rasist......but we all learn don’t we.....we all learn....