It's a shame that we live in a world where we can be threatened for what we believe. But it is a bigger shame that we live in a world where we can be threatened, attacked, and even killed for who we are. Our appearance, the color of our skin, our accent, or our manner of dress can set us up for a threatening situation anytime and anywhere. As a Black African-American woman, I know what it feels like to be the target of another's rage. But sometimes it's not even the physical threats of violence that disturb us. It's the routine microaggressions that some of us encounter everyday; and no bumper sticker is needed.
As a young girl I remember standing in front of my house on South Meadow Street. A school bus (buses we weren't allowed to ride) full of white students passed by yelling 'n****r, n****r, n****r. No bumper sticker was needed.
I remember being told to never walk through Oregon Hill and never drive through there at night. No bumper sticker was needed.
I remember being told which stores we could go in to make purchases when a group of us went downtown on a Saturday afternoon. No bumper sticker needed.
After the schools were integrated, I remember walking into an Advanced History class in the twelfth grade as the only black and only female assigned to the class. The white male teacher refused to let me sit down and sent me back to guidance, because he thought that I was obviously assigned to the wrong class. No bumper sticker needed.
Years later at that same school I was assigned as their Instructional Specialist. I was asked why my supervisor, a white man, had not come to a meeting as they had requested. When I reminded them that I could handle the problem, I was ignored by one of the staff members and had to remind him that I was the expert and fully capable of handling the situation. No bumper sticker needed.
And even in 2015 while I was a patient in the Intensive Care Unit at St. Mary's Hospital one of the staff doctors asked me about my condition. When I proceeded to explain my condition and diagnosis in detail, he looked visibly shaken. He sat down and asked me 'where had I learned to speak like that.' I told him that I was a lifelong student with two Masters Degrees. He gave a nervous laugh and left. No bumper sticker needed.
I won't even go through the numerous times I have had to walk out of stores after being followed, yet given no assistance. Or walked out of restaurants after placing our order and watching the white patrons being served first. No bumper sticker needed.
I'm sure that my friend will keep her bumper stickers. And I will continue to pray for her safety. But I have never had a bumper sticker to express any social or political view and I really don't plan to get one. For me it's not necessary because some people have already decided to hate me just for the color of my skin. So no bumper sticker is needed.