---

Be strong. Right will prevail over wrong.

The Bill of Rights for Black Men
Walking While Black
by Bryonn Bain
April 26 - May 2, 2000

---

Village Voice: http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0017/bain.php |

---

After hundreds of hours and thousands of pages of legal theory in law school, I have finally had my first real lesson in the Law. On Sunday, October 18, 1999, I was taken from the corner of 96th Street and Broadway by the NYPD and held overnight in a cell at the 24th Precinct in New York City. While home from school for the weekend, I was arrested for a crime I witnessed someone else commit.

We left the Latin Quarter nightclub that night laughing that Red, my cousin, had finally found someone shorter than his five-foot-five frame to dance with him. My younger brother, K, was fiending for a turkey sandwich, so we all walked over to the bodega around the corner, just one block west of Broadway. We had no idea that class was about to be in session. The lesson for the day was that there is a special Bill of Rights for nonwhite people in the United States — one that applies with particular severity to Black men. It has never had to be ratified by Congress because — in the hearts of those with the power to enforce it — the Black Bill of Rights is held to be self-evident.

As we left the store, armed only with sandwiches and Snapples, the three of us saw a group of young men standing around a car parked on the corner in front of the store. As music blasted by the wide-open doors of their car, the men around the car appeared to be arguing with someone in an apartment above the store. The argument escalated when one of the young men began throwing bottles at the apartment window. Several other people who had just left the club, as well as a number of random passersby, witnessed the altercation and began scattering to avoid the raining shards of glass.

---

Amendment I:
Congress can make no law altering the established fact that a black man is a nigger.

My brother, cousin, and I abruptly began to walk up the street toward the subway to avoid the chaos that was unfolding. Another bottle was hurled. This time, the apartment window cracked, and more glass shattered onto the pavement. We were halfway up the block when we looked back at the guys who had been hanging outside the store. They had jumped in the car, turned off their music, and slammed the doors, and were getting away from the scene as quickly as possible. As we continued to walk toward the subway, about six or seven bouncers came running down the street to see who had caused all the noise. "Where do you BOYS think you're going?!" yelled the biggest of this muscle-bound band of bullies in black shirts. They came at my family and me with outstretched arms to corral us back down the block. "To the 2 train," I answered. Just then I remembered that there are constitutional restrictions on physically restraining people against their will. Common sense told me that the bouncers' authority couldn't possibly extend into the middle of the street around the corner from their club. "You have absolutely no authority to put your hands on any of us!" I insisted, with a sense of newly found conviction. We kept going. This clearly pissed off the bouncers—especially the big, bald, white bouncer who seemed to be the head honcho.

---

Amendment II:
The right of any white person to apprehend a nigger will not be infringed.

The fact that the bouncers' efforts at intimidation were being disregarded by three young Black men much smaller than they were only made matters worse for their egos (each of us is under five-foot-ten and no more than 180 pounds). The bouncer who appeared to be in charge warned us we would regret having ignored him. "You BOYS better stay right where you are!" barked the now seething bouncer. I told my brother and cousin to ignore him. We were not in their club. In fact, we were among the many people dispersing from the site of the disturbance, which had occurred an entire block away from their "territory." They were clearly beyond their jurisdiction (we spent weeks on the subject in Civil Procedure!). Furthermore, the bouncers had not bothered to ask anyone among the many witnesses what had happened before they attempted to apprehend us. They certainly had not asked us. A crime had been committed, and someone Black was going to be apprehended—whether the Black person was a crack addict, a corrections officer, a preacher, a professional entertainer of white people, or a student at a prestigious law school.

Less than 10 minutes after we had walked by the bouncers, I was staring at badge 1727. We were screamed at and shoved around by Officer Ronald Connelly and his cronies. "That's them, officer!" the head bouncer said, indicting us with a single sentence.

---

Amendment III:
No nigger shall, at any time, fail to obey any public authority figures—even when beyond the jurisdiction of their authority.

"You boys out here throwin' bottles at people?!" shouted the officer. Asking any of the witnesses would have easily cleared up the issue of who had thrown the bottles. But the officer could not have cared less about that. My family and I were now being punished for the crime of thwarting the bouncers' unauthorized attempt to apprehend us. We were going to be guilty unless we could prove ourselves innocent.

---

Amendment IV:
The fact that a Black man is a nigger is sufficient probable cause for him to be searched and seized.

Having failed to convince Connelly, the chubby, gray-haired officer in charge, we were up against the wall in a matter of minutes. Each of us had the legs of our dignity spread apart, was publicly frisked down from shirt to socks, and then had our pockets rummaged through. All while Officer Connelly insisted that we shut up and keep facing the wall or, as he told Red, he would treat us like we "were trying to fight back." The officers next searched through my backpack and seemed surprised to find my laptop and a casebook I had brought to the club so that I could get some studying done on the bus ride back to school.

We were shoved into the squad car in front of a crowd composed of friends and acquaintances who had been in the club with us and had by now learned of our situation. I tried with little success to play back the facts of the famous Miranda case in my mind. I was fairly certain these cops were in the wrong for failing to read us our rights.

---

Amendment V:
Any nigger accused of a crime is to be punished without any due process whatsoever.

We were never told that we had a right to remain silent. We were never told that we had the right to an attorney. We were never informed that anything we said could and would be used against us in a court of law.

---

Amendment VI:
In all prosecutions of niggers, their accuser shall enjoy the right of a speedy apprehension. While the accused nigger shall enjoy a dehumanizing and humiliating arrest.

After my mug shot was taken at the precinct, Officer Connelly chuckled to himself as he took a little blue-and-white pin out of my wallet. "This is too sharp for you to take into the cell. We can't have you slitting somebody's wrist in there!" he said facetiously. I was handed that pin the day before at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. . . . I wanted to be transported back there, where I had seen the ancient Egyptian art exhibit that afternoon. The relics of each dynastic period pulled a proud grin across my face as I stood in awe at the magnificence of this enduring legacy of my Black African ancestors.

This legacy has been denied for so long that my skin now signals to many that I must be at least an accomplice to any crime that occurs somewhere within the vicinity of my person . . . this legacy has been denied so long that it was unfathomable for the cops that we were innocent bystanders in this situation . . . this legacy lay locked all night long for no good reason in a filthy cell barely bigger than the bathroom in my tiny basement apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts . . . this legacy was forced to listen that night to some white guy who was there because he had beaten up his girlfriend the way the cops frisking my cousin had threatened to beat him down if he kept trying to explain to them what had really happened . . . this legacy is negated by the lily-white institutions where many Blacks are trained to think that they are somehow different from the type of Negro this kind of thing happens to because in their minds White Supremacy is essentially an ideology of the past.

Yet White Supremacy was alive and well enough to handcuff three innocent young men and bend them over the hood of a squad car with cops cackling on in front of the crowd, "These BOYS think they can come up here from Brooklyn, cause all kinds of trouble, and get away with it!"

---

Amendment VII:
Niggers must remain within the confines of their own neighborhoods. Those who do not are clearly looking for trouble.

Indeed, I had come from Brooklyn with my younger brother and cousin that evening to get our dance on at the Latin Quarter. However, having gone to college in the same neighborhood, I consider it more of a second home than a place where I journey to escape the eyes of my community and unleash the kind of juvenile mischief to which the officers were alluding. At 25 years old, after leaving college five years ago and completing both a master's degree and my first year of law school, this kind of adolescent escapism is now far behind me. But that didn't matter.

The bouncers and the cops didn't give a damn who we were or what we were about. While doing our paperwork several hours later, another officer, who realized how absurd our ordeal was and treated us with the utmost respect, explained to us why he believed we had been arrested.

---

Amendment VIII:
Wherever niggers are causing trouble, arresting any nigger at the scene of the crime is just as good as arresting the one actually guilty of the crime in question.

After repeated incidents calling for police intervention during the last few months, the 24th Precinct and the Latin Quarter have joined forces to help deal with the club's "less desirable element." To prevent the club from being shut down, they needed to set an example for potential wrongdoers. We were just unfortunate enough to be at the wrong place at the wrong time—and to fit the description of that "element." To make matters worse from the bouncers' point of view, we had the audacity to demonstrate our understanding that for them to touch us without our consent constituted a battery.

As Officer Connelly joked on about how this was the kind of thing that would keep us from ever going anywhere in life, the situation grew increasingly unbelievable. "You go to Harvard Law School?" he inquired with a sarcastic smirk. "You must be on a Ball scholarship or somethin', huh?" I wanted to hit him upside his uninformed head with one of my casebooks. I wanted to water torture him with the sweat and tears that have fallen from my mother's face for the last 20 years, during which she has held down three nursing jobs to send six children to school. I wanted to tell everyone watching just how hard she has worked to give us more control over our own destinies than she had while growing up in her rural village in Trinidad. I still haven't told my mom what happened. Seeing the look on her face when I do will be the worst thing to come out of this experience. I can already hear the sound of her crying when she thinks to herself that none of her years of laboring in hospitals through sleepless nights mattered on this particular evening.

---

Amendment IX:
Niggers will never be treated like full citizens in America—no matter how hard they work to improve their circumstances.

It did not matter to the officers or the bouncers that my brother is going to graduate from Brooklyn College in June after working and going to school full-time for the last six years. It did not matter that he has worked for the criminal justice system in the Department of Corrections of New Jersey for almost a year now. They didn't give a damn that I was the president of my class for each of the four years that I was at Columbia University. It did not matter that I am now in my second year at Harvard Law School. And in a fair and just society, none of that should matter. Our basic civil rights should have been respected irrespective of who we are or the institutions with which we are affiliated. What should have mattered was that we were innocent. Officer Connelly checked all three of our licenses and found none of us had ever been convicted of a crime.

---

Amendment X:
A nigger who has no arrest record just hasn't been caught yet.

It should have mattered that we had no record. But it didn't. What mattered was that we were Black and we were there. That was enough for everyone involved to draw the conclusion that we were guilty until we could be proved innocent.

After our overnight crash course in the true criminal law of this country, I know now from firsthand experience that the Bill of Rights for Blacks in America completely contradicts the one that was ratified for the society at large. The afternoon before we were arrested, I overheard an elderly white woman on the bus as she remarked to the man beside her how much safer Mayor Giuliani has made New York City feel. I remember thinking to myself then, "Not if you look like Diallo or Louima!" It's about as safe as L.A. was for Rodney King. About as safe as Texas was for James Byrd Jr. . . . and this list could go on for days. Although the Ku Klux Klan may feel safe enough to march in Manhattan, the rights of Black men are increasingly violated by the police of this and other cities around the country every day. In the context of some of these atrocities, we were rather lucky to have been only abducted, degraded, pushed around, and publicly humiliated. Nevertheless, Black people from all walks of life can have little security in a nation where police officers are free to grab Black bodies off the street at random and do with them whatever they please.

---

ADDENDUM:
On Wednesday, February 23, 2000, after four court appearances over five months, the D.A.'s case against Bryonn Bain, Kristofer Bain, and Kyle Vazquez was dismissed. No affidavits or other evidence were produced to support the charges against them.

---

After five months and four court appearances with the assistance of Professor Kellis Parker of Columbia Law School, Bryonn Bain wrote this article for a Harvard Law School class called "Critical Perspectives on the Law." He submitted it for publication at the suggestion of his professor, Lani Guinier.

---

Walk Black Live
May 3 - 9, 2000

---

Bryonn booked: the author in the Harvard Law library

ryonn Bain's "Walking While Black: The Bill of Rights for Black Men," which appeared in last week's issue, generated a highly unusual reader response. The Voice received hundreds of letters in reaction to the article, many of which included extensive accounts of similar racial profiling by police. Letters from African American and non-African American readers came in from all over the United States. Some writers said they had never seen the Voice, happened upon the article on the Internet, and were struck by it. A black professor in New Zealand related his experiences as a young man at the hands of police. An African American police officer in New York City sent a 1300-word amendment-by-amendment response. Space does not permit printing most of the letters in anything like their original length. Following is a selection of some of the mail received.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Street Education

Bravo, Bryonn Bain. As a journalist in Miami (I'm originally from Chicago), I know firsthand what you are talking about. A nigger is a nigger is a nigger to the police. You have no idea how many times I have to pull out my I.D. before people actually believe I am a reporter. And even then, they want to inspect the plastic card.

Adrienne Samuels Education Reporter The Miami Herald

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ward Politics

I want to thank The Village Voice for having the courage to print the story "Walking While Black." Would that it were it could be mandatory reading for the Ward Connerlys of the world who think racism is passé.

Martha Estes Downingtown, Pennsylvania

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bum Steer

I am a Yale graduate who recently learned that several of my classmates were harassed by New York police after they were stopped in a BMW (which clearly had to be stolen, since the driver and the passengers were people of color). Like Bryonn Bain, I always felt that my prestigious background was some sort of shield—that going to private schools and Ivy League universities somehow made you immune to racism. Incidents like this are a wake-up call for me. The question is, what is the next step?

Mali Locke Bronx

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Degree of Separation

Thank you for printing the article by the young Harvard Law student who was harassed and arrested in New York City. It saddens me deeply that young black and brown people can be so randomly targeted. I can only imagine what would have happened to these young men if one of them had not had the benefit of a Harvard affiliation and some resources. I am sure thousands of poor youths of color have had their lives ruined by this kind of incident.

Charlene Gilbert Assistant Professor Department of Media Study SUNY-Buffalo

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Image 'n' nation

As a sister of two black brothers, I know this story too well. I hope charges have been pressed because that might be the best way to retaliate against this type of treatment.

What scares me most is the effect that incidents like this have on the voiceless youth throughout the country. They started questioning and taking pictures of my younger brother when he was only 12 years old. Imagine how many other teenage boys have been terrorized and attacked.

Umuna Ghirmay Washington, D.C.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Writing While White

I was furious after reading Bryonn Bain's "Walking While Black." I felt violated and I wasn't even there. As a Vietnam veteran, I am angry that the freedom I fought for there still does not exist here! As former reserve deputy sheriff, I wish to apologize to Mr. Bain on behalf of the white people who still "don't get it!" Please remember not all white men are like the ones you had to contend with!

Roger Howe The Dalles, Oregon

------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Tis

As an African American lawyer, I found Bryonn Bain's article amusing and painful, since I can readily see myself in the same situation. Such diminished-dignity stories are at their core comical. Your mind says this really can't be, but alas, 'tis true. Thousands of such occurrences happen weekly across the U.S., yet they are categorized as isolated incidents.

James A. Lynch Jr.
Brooklyn

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Up Front

Thank you for making this a cover story. Bryonn Bain's article validates the fear that African Americans have of the NYPD. This article—by an educated, articulate, calm black man—conveys the issue in language that a white reader cannot ignore.

Taina Mirach Manhattan

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Diss Missed

Does Bryonn Bain think he's the only one who's ever been falsely accused and had to go through a lengthy process to clear his name? Too bad they haven't taught him about probable cause at Harvard. He should consider himself vindicated solely on the grounds that the case against him was dismissed. Many people aren't so fortunate, and end up serving time for trumped-up charges.

David Heide Manhattan

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Club Crawl

I can understand Bryonn Bain's frustration, with the police as well as with the nightclub bouncers. I've stopped going to so-called hot clubs because the simple fact is that if you are a black male with your buddies, you are heavily scrutinized by the bouncers, who often are thugs. Thank you for bringing to light again the racism of the NYPD and giving a voice to brothers who have been disrespected when they were only trying to have a good time.

Lear Riojas Brooklyn

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dark Streets

As a young black female, I have witnessed firsthand what can happen to people of color who are in the wrong place at the wrong time. I've seen countless white women clutch their purses tighter, walk faster down a dark street, even scream bloody murder at the mere sight of the person accompanying me.

Daisy James Brooklyn

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harvard Laws?

While I sympathize with Bryonn Bain's predicament, I am fairly sure that there is another side to the story. I am surprised that a professor at Harvard Law would accept and endorse such a piece of victim propaganda.

David González Silver Spring, Maryland

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sidewalks of New York

I am a white woman, and every day while commuting I see very sad situations involving black men and the NYPD—just last week a young boy being roughed up face-down outside of Macy's. The cops were using horrible language, making a huge scene. Thank you for having the courage to print the Bryonn Bain article. Please continue to attempt to enlighten your readers to what truly goes on in New York.

Carolyn McCarthy Morristown, New Jersey

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Out of Control

Bryonn Bain's angry, yet controlled, cover story about his ordeal with the NYPD relates what is undoubtedly just one of many such incidents—mostly undocumented—that occur regularly. The white community has Giuliani to thank for the safety of the city in general, but how safe are we going to remain if white citizens do not feel outrage at the treatment of nonwhite citizens by the police?

Rob Donner Brooklyn

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Generation X

This was a great and necessary article—some might say too extremist, but it takes extremism to make change. I am an Asian woman who thinks it must be hard being a black man in America. Hopefully, by the time the next generation grows up, people will be more sensitized to the issues that ethnic minorities deal with, and convictions like these will be mainstream. Now, if you could also publish an article about how many Asian American women despise their continued sexualization and fetishization (the Dragon Lady myths) in American media and culture, I'd be an even bigger fan of The Village Voice.

Jane Liu Queens

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Body English

I am a Wall Street attorney who happens to be black. Though I have never experienced the level of harassment that Mr. Bain endured, I have been profiled, watched, and followed by police officers for merely walking down the street. I was very pleased that Mr. Bain published the name and badge number of the harassing officer. It is time that we take a greater stand for our rights. In the present situation, I fear for my life more from cops than from the element they are supposedly protecting me against.

R. Brent English Manhattan

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Profiles in Prejudice

The sad truth is that I was not at all surprised by Mr. Bain's story. I've heard and read countless stories of brothers being stopped and humiliated and arrested simply because of the color of their skin—which translates to "they fit the description." The mayor would have us believe that the type of behavior exhibited by these goons in blue is vital to the safety of the people of the city. Not until this kind of behavior becomes unacceptable—by all people—will our innocent African American men be treated with respect, instead of fear and hatred.

Michelle Hilliard Jersey City, New Jersey

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Color Coding

As an African American male, I can agree with the amendments presented by Bryonn Bain. It takes little to nothing to end up in jail attempting to prove you are not guilty if you are on the other end of a white person's accusation. This system requires people of color to walk the streets passively, hoping nobody accuses them of anything. When was the last time you heard about young white males complaining about this type of treatment?

Howard Allen Brooklyn

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Whitewash?

Bryonn Bain assumes that his treatment was caused by the fact that he is black. I am a white lawyer in a white community, and I can tell you that white youth are treated the same way by white cops who suspect them of committing a crime. The problem is less often racism and more often rampant abuse of authority by the police. We need to make sure that people who go into police work are not doing so because of an authoritarian complex.

James H. Manahan Cleveland, Minnesota

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Madison Avenue

Bryonn Bain went to Columbia and Harvard! How dare those evil white police officers arrest him. He was involved in an unfortunate situation, but one which could happen to anyone.

Christopher Tennant Madison, Wisconsin

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sisters Under the Skin

I come from a family of three sisters, and I can relate to what Bryonn Bain is saying. My oldest sister is working on her Ph.D., my middle sister graduated from Columbia Law School, and I am currently working on my master's degree. Would New York City police look at the three of us walking down the street and see three black girls who are teenage mothers and high school dropouts? Probably so.

Lenita Williamson Columbus, Ohio

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phone Call Away

As the single parent of a man of Morehouse, I found Bryonn Bain's article disturbing. Like his mother, I have worked hard to provide my son with access to which I was not entitled. I read this account with the same rip in my heart that started the first time my son was stopped by the police—at 11 years old—for riding his new bike in his neighborhood.

The rip gets worse each time my son is stopped for absolutely no reason other than the fact of his blackness. How can I continue to tell him to walk with dignity and ignore the racism of others when it pierces our daily lives so? Although I pray that it never happens, I dread the thought that I may some day receive a phone call that my son has been hurt by the police. It seems inevitable despite the fact that he lives his life lawfully.

Sue Hawkins Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Winter of Our Discontent

Thank you for printing Bryonn Bain's intelligent, honest, and ultimately human account of being a black man in this city. His voice is an important one amid all the madness we have been living with this season: the season of picking up slain, unarmed brothers off the sidewalk.

Suheir Hammad Brooklyn

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Heart Land

I read Bryonn Bain's entire story through, wanting very much for it to end with apologies and a move toward reconciliation and peace.

What I felt was anger, shame, and deep sadness. I want to embrace the young men and their mothers, and tell them that, while this is what happened this time, they must go forward so that their lives testify to the honor and dignity that no person can really deny them.

I happened on this story through links from a site I was viewing. I have never seen anything from this publication (The Village Voice) before, and so I felt compelled to respond. I have never done that before either. It just seemed necessary. Thank you.

Roberta Ann Gruber Sylvania, Ohio

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Black Man-tra

I am a 23-year police veteran, and this offensive article left me less convinced that such occurrences happen only to black citizens and more convinced that Bryonn Bain attributes his misfortunes to his skin tone. His pathetic and tired mantra of "I'm black so I must be a victim" is nothing more than race baiting. Mr. Bain needs to grow up! If he was falsely arrested, he should do something about it. If he has a case, sue the bastards. If he doesn't, he should do something positive with his life other than promoting the use of the word "nigger."

Bill Ollar Yuba City, California

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Black and Blue

To Bryonn Bain: I'm an African American police officer, with some comments about your "amendments." I don't condone your being treated unprofessionally. However, it seems your law education thus far has left you unaware of certain facts.

The procedure of citizens' arrest allows anyone to hold a suspect until the arrival of police. Jurisdiction has no bearing on this, so the bouncers, while being mistaken in their identification, did not overstep any boundaries.

Here's how Miranda warnings work in real life, not on TV: If an officer isn't going to question you about a crime, he doesn't have to read you your rights. Period.

Being arrested sucks; I realize that. You should realize that innocent people do get arrested. If they didn't, we wouldn't need courts and trials to determine who's guilty.

Boo-hoo. It didn't matter that you were class president and had a clean record. How do you know the actual perpetrators don't also have a clean record and attend college? Non-criminals can and do get into stupid, petty arguments that escalate.

Remember when your mom worried that you'd be killed for your jacket or sneakers by another black kid? The city is safer.

Russell Williams Manhattan

Stories like this make me ashamed to be a police officer. I'm an African American male, and I'm so frustrated, I don't know what to do. When does it end? Do black men have to take up arms? What will it take to change the tide?

Derrick Tatum Brooklyn

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Breathing While Black

Bryonn Bain's article made me cry—for my computer nerd, UC Berkeley- educated, history-buff, reads-three-newspapers a day, published-author husband, who, in spite of all of the above, is still a six-foot-one, 200-pound black man, and gets treated "as such" before he can open his mouth to reveal everything else he is. It made me cry for my 14-month-old son, who I really hope will never have to experience this kind of evil but whom I know I can't really protect from it.

April Lampkins Ross Los Angeles, California

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Canterbury Tales

Thank you for publishing this insightful article by Bryonn Bain on his horrific treatment by New York's finest. I, too, like many others, have learned to "know my place" when walking in suburbs or otherwise minding my own business. I now live in New Zealand, and it is often difficult to convince my white students, who grew up with The Cosby Show here, that there are still problems and issues to be resolved in the U.S.A.

I will be reading this piece to my class on "Contemporary African American Culture" at the earliest opportunity. I, too, have been humiliated—pants down on ankles, teeth checked, and told to get out of town. This was before the B.A., two master's degrees, and Ph.D. But I am no fool—this could happen to me tomorrow.

Dr. Vernon L. Andrews University of Canterbury Christchurch, New Zealand

------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Any Means

Thank you for Bryonn Bain's article. It was a sadly true and profoundly depressing reminder that despite any accomplishment or hurdle overcome, very little has changed in the hundreds of years that black people have struggled to win their basic human rights in this country. To paraphrase Malcolm X, a black person, whether a Harvard student or not, will always be a nigger in the eyes of an inexorably white racist society.

Joan Kee Class of 2000 Harvard Law School

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Black Like Me

As a white person and a recovering racist, I am an expert at decoding whitespeak. The fear of black people is passed down from parents and teachers. It is reinforced daily by news media. It is fear of the "other" and fear of a whole segment of the population that has been scapegoated, targeted, hunted, and humiliated. In New York City, that fear is legitimized by the continual harassment and murder of black men by cops.

I also know that if I feel this way, I can only imagine the daily terror of being black in this city.

Kay Bachman Brooklyn

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Southern Discomfort

I just finished Bryonn Bain's article, and I must say, it makes me ashamed to be a white person and read things like this. The "good ole boy" sentiment is still out there. I live in the South, and as a woman I am also subjected to it. It's a sad statement on today's society that this kind of behavior is viewed as relatively harmless.

Jennifer Hoff Houston, Texas

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not Guilty

Great cover story. I applaud you for printing it. Being a young, educated, fairly "successful" black male, I could relate. I haven't been arrested, but I have been unfairly judged in situations because I am black. It is, for lack of a better description, exhausting. Approaching 30, I now understand that what I thought was apathy among some of our parents was really exhaustion. You get tired of being stared at with accusing eyes and trying to prove your innocence.

Luster Chauncey Manhattan

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dr. Morales & Mr. Hide

Walking While Black" is an excellent example of how much our society has not changed but has just shifted from one type of racism to another. Being a young black physician, I lead almost a double life. Nine to five Monday through Friday is when I am in my professional clothing, using professional language among my colleagues. Nights and weekends is when I am wearing the "baggy jeans, baseball cap, and boots"—thug gear to some people. But when I am not at work I dress in what is comfortable—and these are the times when I am most apt to be assaulted, mistreated, or mishandled by police.

The problems described by Mr. Bain are inherent in the NYPD and other police departments. Change will occur only with continued education, and more importantly with exposure to people of other cultures.

Roger L. Morales, M.D.
Bronx

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Billed Correctly

This was a powerful piece. As the father of two sons, 21 and 24, I could only think of them in the same situation. The "Bill of Rights for Black Men" is an important statement about the lives of black Americans and anyone else who is different.

William L. Pollard Raleigh, North Carolina

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reprint Rights

The story by Bryonn Bain should be published once a week in every newspaper across the country. It's unfortunate that Americans of African descent still cannot expect more from the government that they pay taxes to. It reminds me of Gil Scott Heron's statement, "The revolution will not be televised."

Joan Cartwright Fort Lauderdale, Florida

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Other Black People

Bryonn Bain's article spoke for me and many others who are nonwhite who dare to walk. Such crimes can happen to us. We are the other black people.

Kaemba Mwale Indianapolis, Indiana

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Slam Dunk

Just a note to let you know that the gentleman who wrote your cover article, Bro. Bryonn Bain, won a slam at the Nuyorican Poet's Caféon the Lower East Side a month ago. His poetry that evening addressed many of the issues that he dealt with in his article.

Keith Roach Brooklyn

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bryonn Bain replies: While I deeply appreciate that so many share my outrage at the racist practices pervasively employed by New York City's finest, I have opted not to reply directly to these letters so that as many as possible could be published. Those who are interested in continuing to engage in constructive dialogue and action should do so by writing me care of www.blackoutartscollective.com, a nonprofit organization committed to empowering communities of color through the arts.

---

Bryonn Bain: http://BlackoutArtsCollective.com |