Race In America: Reflections Of An Angry Black Man
November 29, 2005 | 27 Shawwal 1426
Being Black in America is not easy. Let’s start with that. Now, let me just get a few things off my chest.
The Problem With White Folks
I’ve been spending the last few weeks looking for a new apartment. It’s an arjuous task without having to add racial discrimination to the mix. But that’s just what I’ve been going through. Late last week I found a really great loft apartment that I had my heart set on. It was in a really cool neighborhood and the pad was tight. The landlord was a little kwerky but most of the other landlords I’d met all had certain odd character traits. So I filled out the application and eagerly awaited his answer. Lo and behold, I get a call from a couple of references he called. It seems that this guy, who we’ll call The Wack-o, was not interested in my profession, or that I made enough money to pay for this place, but if I was black or not. Yes, that’s right. He asked my references, two of whom are black, if I was black. Hello? Where am I? Is this Philadelphia or Lynchville, Tennessee? And then, to pour more salt in my wounds, when I go to look at another place in South Philly, this old Italian guy asks me what my ethnicity is and when I asked why that mattered he explained, “We don’t like to mix the races too much here in these neighborhoods.” WTF?? Can this truly be happening? Read more this entry »
