When Iโm walking on a sidewalk and white folks are approaching, do I step aside and hit the grass, or keep moving straight forward and make them move? Usually Iโm the one who gives them the path, especially if it is a woman. But either way, I feel like Iโm offending my ancestors or something by reinforcing a time when black people had to defer to white people on the sidewalk.
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What do I do? Keep it movinโ or move to the side? I really need to know what to do. When my son sees me step aside, he gives me that look like he thinks Iโm a punk. Iโm a 30-something black guy.ย โSidewalk Sensitivity
Itโs entirely possible that youโre just a really polite person and you do this for everyone, but because of your awareness of Americaโs racial history, youโre hyperconscious of stepping aside when you do it for white people.
But assuming that you really are giving race-based special sidewalk treatment, I can see why your own actions would bother you (and your son, and your ancestors, and maybe even many of the white people themselves, if they were conscious of what was happening) by suggesting that your access to a clear path is unimportant because youโre black.
Hereโs the easy answer: Stop it! Seriously. Offer a little extra room to people of all races who are in wheelchairs or pushing strollers or who appear to be in a much bigger rush than you are (and women, if that type of chivalry is your thing), and donโt be so aggressive as to cause a collision with anyone, but never let a fellow walkerโs color determine when you โhit the grass.โ
Perhaps thatโs easier said than done (Iโm guessing it is or you would have answered your own question).
Of course, you didnโt pull this practice out of nowhere. Youโre no doubt aware of the expectation in the Jim Crow South that African Americans step off sidewalks to allow white people to pass (sometimes called โgiving whites the wallโ), when failure to adhere to this racist rule could have deadly consequences.
Itโs true that that type of explicitly enforced white supremacy stopped governing black peopleโs foot travel decades ago. But thereโs a case to be made that the attitudes behind itโyou know, the ones that make black men and boys transform into threats simply by, well, existingโpersist.
We were reminded of them in discussions of the racially disparate impact of New York Cityโs stop-and-frisk policy, the facts leading up to the shooting deaths of Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis, and the evidence that โStand your groundโ laws tend toย benefit defendants whose victims are black more than those whose victims are white. Plenty of parents of black boys have opened up about their lessons to their sons on best practices for appearing nonthreatening and navigating potential stereotypes on the part of law-enforcement officers and everyday white Americans.
Given all that, you definitely wouldnโt be crazy or alone if, in the back of your mind, you worried that any one of the possible misunderstandings that can come with bodies being in close contact could end badly for you if you failed to clear the sidewalk.
New York Universityโs Michael Lindsey, who has studied how notions of masculinity affect the decisions of black men, says that although itโs unfortunate that anyone would have to go to such lengths to ensure that heโs not mistreated, โThe anxiety black men have and our preoccupations with who we are and how weโre seen is healthy in a way because it prepares us for the threat of challenge.โ
Heโs not the only one who has thought about these issues. Your dilemma also reminds me of what Boston College professor Anderson J. Franklin calls โinvisibility syndromeโโa conceptual model he created to explain the personal-identity development of African-American men as they navigate racism, writing in a 1999 paper on the theoryย (pdf), โSociety has infinite social rules about the inclusion of African American men that can make them feel invisible.โ
Hereโs how he explains how โinvisibility syndromeโ plays out:
For example, as a result of a given racial slight or cumulative encounters with them, (a) one feels a lack of recognition or appropriate acknowledgment; (b) one feels there is no satisfaction or gratification from the encounter (it is painful and injurious); (c) one feels self-doubt about legitimacyโsuch as โAm I in the right place; should I be here?โ; (d) there is no validation from the experienceโ โAm I a person of worth?โโor the person seeks some form of corroboration of experiences from another person; (e) one feels disrespected (this is led to by the previous elements and is linked to the following); (f) oneโs sense of dignity is compromised and challenged; (g) oneโs basic identity is shaken, if not uprooted.
It sounds like (c) and (f), at least, apply to your dilemma.
And Franklin practically predicted your inner turmoil over your sidewalk deference, writing, โIt is important that individual changes in behavior to gain acceptance are consistent with oneโs personal identity and worldview, or a form of dissonance will occur that requires a reconciling of beliefs and anxiety.โ
To deal with that dissonance, he suggests getting support in dealing with this โinvisibilityโ by tapping into the โbrotherhood of other African American men.โ That doesnโt mean you have to get together with your friends and repeatย this adorable kidโs โWho the best? Black people the best!โ mantra (although maybe it wouldnโt hurt). But talking to them might give you the emotional support to kick this habit, or at least find a balance between self-preservation and re-enacting Jim Crow in your daily travels.
Remember that what youโre doing is a reasonable (if depressing) adaptation to the world you live in. The best news of all is that youโve raised a son who hasnโt had experiences that give him the same preoccupation with racial inequality in his daily life that you have. Whatever messages heโs received seem to have convinced him that itโs ridiculous that white people should get the sidewalk because theyโre whiteโand thatโs great. Maybe when thinking about these issues, and when walking down the street, you can begin to follow his lead.
Jenรฉe Desmond-Harris, The Rootโs associate editor of features covers the intersection of race with news, politics and culture. She wants to talk about the complicated ways in which ethnicity, color and identity arise in your personal lifeโand provide perspective on the ethics and etiquette surrounding race in a changing America. So if you need race-related advice, send your questions to [email protected]. Follow Jenรฉe on Twitter.
Previously in Race Manners: โWhy Do Black People Have So Many Cousins?โ
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