Walking While Black

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Roger Ebert tweeted this link to Keko's Blog:

For Trayvon and Emmett: My "Walking While Black" stories

As a reporter for the Chicago Sun Times, I was often out late at night or in the wee hours of the morning covering stories or taking a late shift…whatever the job required. And I lived in a very popular and very congested area of Chicago at the time, where it was nearly impossible to park, even late at night.

So I tended to take cabs or buses—especially in winter when my car was invariably buried in huge drifts of snow. I always stood on relatively busy corners, but I was usually the only woman out so late/early.

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Because one day, having found out exactly where this house was, I decided to take a stroll and get a good look. And I got there without any problem. I did a slow stroll past the train wreck to get a good look, and then walked a up aways before crossing the street to walk back on the other side of the street, for one last look to confirm that I’d really seen what I’d seen.

And on my way back, I was followed and then stopped by an LAPD cop—I still believe it was because someone saw me and called 911.

More: http://open.salon.com/blog/keka/2012/03/21/for_trayvon_and_emmett_my_walking_while_black_stories