Randy

On March 21st 2014…. I was on my way to Buffalo from Cleveland to watch Tyler Ennis  compete in March Madness and I was pulled over for going 12 MPH over the speed limit.
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The original violation quickly turned into an interrogation about the car I was driving. 
A 2014, stock GMC Acadia. Instead of asking if I knew how fast I was going, the officer’s questions were, “How are you driving this car?” and “Whose car is this?”
I was then asked to get out of the car so that he could do a search, a search that would require me to be in handcuffs -- handcuffs and then thrown into the back of his cruiser. I was confused and am still confused as to how me going 12MPH over the speed limit had escalated to my detainment. -
I was eventually released, unharmed. I am sharing this to acknowledge the intense week of violence against black and brown bodies, and I have been moving through this week with heaviness, sadness, and anger as I relive my experiences with the abuse of power and the trauma it has placed on my identity.
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As I look at the current state of society, in light of the situations that have occurred recently, and those that go unheard or unseen I felt compelled to share my story. Compelled, because I am one of the fortunate Black bodies that made it out ALIVE to be ABLE to tell my story. The intersectionality of blackness and criminality have devalued black lives and continue to justify the senseless violence and deaths in the Black community. My story is one of millions and next time I may not be granted this freedom. While I continue to recognize the structures that oppress us, we must call out anti-black racism and continue to fight for the narratives that have been senselessly silenced.