This afternoon I went to Eaton Hall to work on a few things. The room was crowded. I sat next to a girl who seemed to be really concentrating and working hard. After five to seven minutes, she packed up her things and walked away. Thinking nothing of it, I kept working, until I noticed she moved several computers down to my left, unpacked her things, and continued to work on her assignments.
I am a black man, a person of color. I will not disclose her ethnicity, but I will say she was not black. These are some of the things I have to deal with on a daily basis. If she had left the building for any reason, I would not have given it a second thought. But I, like any of the other students in the busy hall, did not give her any reason to move or so I thought. I am a black man, and this is life.
A few weeks ago I was going to a party that one of my friends invited me to. Along the way there, I came across two of my high school friends who do not go to Tufts. They were going to the same party. Standing a few feet ahead of them in line, I was stopped. While I was being wrongfully interrogated by two Tufts male students with dumb questions like "Where are you going?" "What are you here for?" "Do you know what this is?" "Who invited you?" "How do you know her?" and so forth, my two friends were let in upon first glance with no second thought about the matter.
I am a black man. The two male bouncers (Tufts University students) at the party were not. My two friends who do not go to Tufts, were not familiar with the students at the door, and who were also not young men of color were let in. I am a black man, and this is life.
My r?©sum?© speaks clearly for itself. I am "A Better Chance Scholar." My network is worth several billion dollars. I have traveled domestically and abroad. I have wide and diverse activities and interests, such as wrestling, lacrosse, business programs, visual fine arts, social activism, community service, mentoring, poetry and philosophy. The periods where I did not spend my time traveling, participating in clubs, or varsity sports, I held numerous jobs.
I have always been an honors student, known as the highest-ranking student in my class throughout elementary and middle school. In high school, I was still was known as an honor student. It was with this recognition that I was nominated and awarded as the first male recipient of the Middlesex League's Service Integrity Leaders and Service (SILS) for my high school. I have eight novels and two screenplays outlined - I just need the time to write them.
I am tired of proving myself!
I grow weary of proving myself time and time again, combating the ignorance of our times. Whether I am admired on a personal level is of no consequence, but respect, equality and ethics should be something held with high esteem, especially on the Tufts University campus. The social schemas of the time should not dictate one's initial impression of me.
Yes, I am a young black man, with a noticeable Midwestern accent. I was born into a working class family of tri-racial decent into the urban sprawls of American society. I did grow up in an Empowerment Zone neighborhood known for its petty crimes and drug trafficking located uptown in Cleveland, Ohio.
I have been stopped by the police because I supposedly fit the profile of a young male of color, between the ages of 15 and 27, with a height that ranges between 5 feet 4 inches to 6 feet 7 inches that (sometimes) wears baggy clothing. However, I have never robbed, rapped, been shot at, solicited illegal substances, assaulted or impregnated anyone, contracted any sexually transmitted disease, assimilated into any gang or been complicit in any organized crime. Growing up I spent my time reading and hanging out in the library. Yes, I do have a library card.
In addition, I do receive a substantial amount of financial aid, which allows me to continue my scholarly activities as a Tufts undergraduate student. It is with great hope that I will one day, upon graduating from law and business school and working as a successful and accomplished corporate professional, have the opportunity to donate financially and give back to this very institution.
I am a poet, a true scholar, a public servant, a business man, a sincere friend, a passionate novelist, as well as a long list of other titles with which I deem myself from time to time, but among all these, am I really just a black man?
