"No running, especially at night; no sudden movements; no hoodies; no objects—especially shiny ones—in hand; no waiting for friends on street corners, lest I be mistaken for a drug dealer; no standing near a corner on the cell phone (same reason)."

Garnette Cadogan, Black and Blue, in The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race (Jesmyn Ward, ed)

#BlackMastodon #BlackFedi #WalkingWhileBlack

"For a black man, to assert your dignity before the police was to risk assault. In fact, the dignity of black people meant less to them, which was why I always felt safer being stopped in front of white witnesses than black witnesses. The cops had less regard for the witness and entreaties of black onlookers, whereas the concern of white witnesses usually registered on them."

Garnette Cadogan, Black and Blue, in The Fire This Time (Jesmyn Ward, ed)

#BlackMastodon #WalkingWhileBlack

"As adults we walk without thinking, really. But as a black adult I am often returned to that moment in childhood when I’m just learning to walk. I am once again on high alert, vigilant. Some days, when I am fed up with being considered a troublemaker upon sight, I joke that the last time a cop was happy to see a black male walking was when that male was a baby taking his first steps."

Garnette Cadogan, Black and Blue, in The Fire This Time (Jesmyn Ward, ed)

#BlackMastodon #WalkingWhileBlack

"A foot leaves, a foot lands, and our longing gives it momentum from rest to rest. We long to look, to think, to talk, to get away. But more than anything else, we long to be free. We want the freedom and pleasure of walking without fear -- without others' fear -- wherever we choose."

Garnette Cadogan, Black and Blue, in The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race (Jesmyn Ward, ed)

#BlackMastodon #BlackFedi #WalkingWhileBlack

"I noticed that many people on the street seemed apprehensive of me: Some gave me a circumspect glance as they approached, and then crossed the street; others, ahead, would glance behind, register my presence, and then speed up; older white women clutched their bags; young white men nervously greeted me, as if exchanging a salutation for their safety: “What’s up, bro?”"

Garnette Cadogan, Black and Blue, in The Fire This Time (Jesmyn Ward, ed)

#BlackMastodon #WalkingWhileBlack

"Walking -- the simple monotonous act of placing one foot before the other to prevent falling -- turns out not to be so simple if you're black. Walking alone has been anything but monotonous for me; monotony is a luxury."

Garnette Cadogan, Black and Blue, in The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race (Jesmyn Ward, ed)

#BlackMastodon #BlackFedi #WalkingWhileBlack

Today's quotes are excerpted from an excellent essay written by Garnette Cadogan. He describes something many people take for granted - walking. But "Walking While Black" is a whole different experience.

I found the entire essay on lithub. You can read it here:

Walking While Black (Essay)
https://lithub.com/walking-while-black/

Also, find out about Garnette Cadogan here:
https://iasculture.org/scholars/profiles/garnette-cadogan

#BlackMastodon #BlackFedi #WalkingWhileBlack

Someone asked why I don't do street photography, anymore. For one thing, I don't find myself "in the street" as much, anymore.

Secondly, much of my time with the camera is spent walking around my local neighborhoods. Some of these neighborhoods are upper crust white where the presence of a black man, let alone a black man taking pictures, isn't welcome. I can't tell you the number of times, after taking a shot, I transitioned from "photographer mode" to "pedestrian mode" only to find someone (white) sitting in their car watching me... Of course, this is all in my head. Until it isn't.

Thirdly, since 9/11 (remember 9/11?), I've found folks in general a lot more suspicious of someone aiming "an expensive camera" in their direction. Forget about the billions of people waving phones around, cameras (nevermind cameras on tripods) are much more taboo than they used to be.

#BlackMastodon #BlackFedi #BlackFediverse #photographingwhileblack #photographywhileblack #walkingwhileblack

Today was a good start to a #ReportingProject months in the making. #Journalism #CivilRights #ColdCase #louisiana #RacistViolence #WalkingWhileBlack #1960s