Growing up and developing my own sense of identity and style I realized one thing no matter how I dressed I will always be viewed as a threat. No matter how I dress myself up my skin color will be the first thing that is cemented into a person's mind.
I am a masculine-presenting person I will carry all the negative stereotypes of people even if I dont exhibit them. Many white people think if black people stopped dressing or acting a certain way we would be treated with decency. Clearly, this line of thought is incorrect but even if it was time and time again innocent black people are killed that dont fit this stereotype of the “thug”.
I live in a very diverse neighborhood in south Philly but as this area gets more gentrified the more places I felt comfortable in started being invaded by white twenty-somethings. I could be Wearing anything but as I walk through my community I feel like I am wearing nothing. All eyes are on me.
I could be wearing suspenders and a button-up shirt but will always be seen as sagging. These people dont know me but are so quick to assume. These people are unwilling to know me, know where they are, and know what they are doing is wrong. The same people who dress like me and who say have the same values as me clutch their belongings when I walk by as I mind my own business.
I could remember vividly this time when an old resident of my neighborhood decided to visit his old house. He is an older black man with Down syndrome. He sat on the steps of his mother's home making conversation with people walking by. The new residents of the home were going to call the police on this man until my mom had to intervene. Before even talking to this man they were quick to potentially seal this man's fate.
—” the pickup truck is a condition of darkness in motion. It makes a dark subject. No, a black object.a”-93 Citizen