It's an axiom among African-Americans: "everybody has a story" about harassment by the police. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution set out to test that idea. We interviewed dozens of people. There's nothing scientific about the selection, but there is something compelling about the stories. Turns out that everybody does have a story, but they're not all the same, and they're not entirely negative. Our series "Black and Blue: personal stories from the intersection of police and public," begins today. We will publish an installment daily. We'll also gather all of the stories here on our premium website and moderate a discussion. To comment, email the AJC.
Michael Winn, 45, is a playwright and community engagement manager at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre. He attended the Juilliard School of drama, dance and music in New York. He was interviewed by the AJC's Rosalind Bentley, who edited his comments for space and clarity.
I realize that I try to be a quote unquote “upstanding Negro citizen.” I try not to look like I should be arrested, down to the kind of car I drive. It’s a Jeep, which wouldn’t be one of those cars that would be looked at as being a black person trying to look prosperous or looking thuggish.
I think there are two people who get stopped: the really prosperous-looking black people and the really thuggish-looking black people.
I have a friend who got stopped by the police in Atlanta, and he’s an attorney and drives an Audi. Out of his car, handcuffs, everything. Just driving while black. They let him off, but the humiliation was horrible.
But two years ago, me and my brother were in the car in Tuscaloosa, Ala. I was home visiting. My brother was feeling ill. So I pulled out of a parking lot and I swerved a little, and the cops were on me. A white officer. And she was like, “Get out of the car.” And I was like, “What happened?” She said, “You swerved back there and we need to check it out, you need to get out of the car.”
I was like, “I can’t. My brother is sick and I’m trying to get him to the hospital. Here’s my license. Can we just go?”
She came back and she was very adamant that we needed to get out of the car. I was like, “What did I do?” She wasn’t believing anything I said until I said, “Look at him! He looks sick!”
She realized he was shaking. And it seemed like something just came over her, something changed in her, like the human being came out in her.
After that, she called the ambulance and escorted us to the hospital. But before that, it was, “Black person this is how we deal with you.” I felt humiliated. I don’t get stopped by cops. I obey all traffic laws.
If somebody robbed my house, I would call the cops. But if I’m driving and I get stopped, I’m scared.
If I’m in the hood at night, and somebody rolls up on me in an Impala with tinted windows looking thuggish, I would be less afraid of them than I would be if a cop rolls up on me. I can actually have a conversation with this other person who looks like me than these cops who, once they see black, their humanity kind of turns off and you become a problem.
Tomorrow: a high-ranking administrator in DeKalb County schools on the lesson he taught his son.
REACTION
Regarding Mr. Winn in Black & Blue: He stated that he exited a parking lot and “swerved." THAT is why he was pulled over. It would have happened to anyone. I am retired law enforcement (Atlanta Police Department) and Caucasian. I have been pulled over also. If you wrote a story about all drivers, you would find that they ALL have a story about being pulled over while driving. It's a fact of life. Not everyone can claim it was because they were black -- they just suck it up and go on with life.
Robert Ford Daytona Beach, Fla.
In regards to Mr. Winn's story on Monday, people should understand it is not getting pulled over that bothers most black people. Although (DWB) Driving While Black is some areas can be a concern. It is the attitude of most Caucasian police officers that is the problem. When being pulled over, for any reason, most black males are treated as if they have already committed some crime that will require through questioning or arrest. I have been a passenger in a car driven by a Caucasian friend who got pulled over for speeding, the officer's attitude was completely different two weeks later when he pulled me over for rolling through a stop sign. While questioning me he kept his hand on his gun the whole time. Why? My friend and I are the same age, same education, same income level, we even both drove the same kind of car. It is that underlying feeling that we have already been judged as a dangerous criminal that is most concerning.
