Go Out of Your Way to Make Other Races Feel Secure and Comfortable
Author-journalist Jesse Washington explained in a 2012 Huffington Post article that he instructs his son on the “Black Male Code,” part of which reads:
“Please don’t assume, son, that all white people view you as a threat. America is better than that. Suspicion and bitterness can imprison you. But as a Black male, you must go above and beyond to show strangers what type of person you really are.”
Actor and director LeVar Burton explained on CNN that he follows a particular procedure every time he is stopped by police to avoid a potentially deadly confrontation. He removes his hat and sunglasses, rolls down his window, and puts out his hands to show he is not armed.
“I do that because I live in America,” Burton added. He said that as a responsible parent, he taught his son to follow the same procedure.
South African anti-apartheid activist, Steve Biko (1946-1977), appealed to a higher quality in man when he wrote: “The basic tenet of Black consciousness is that the Black man must reject all value systems that seek to make him a foreigner in the country of his birth and reduce his basic human dignity.”
Marcus Garvey would add: “The Black man’s origin is as true as the sun. He need not therefore apologize for his existence. If the world fails to give you consideration, because you are Black men, because you are Negroes, (four hundred millions) of you shall, through organization, shake the pillars of the universe.”
