Dangerous Places

The New York City billboard came down as quickly as it went up, although this same racist propaganda continues unabated in several other states. But this moment calls for a reflection on the historical and contemporary dangerous places for African American people.

The most dangerous place for an African American was the slave auction block, the government-sanctioned site for the systematic decimation of families and community.

The most dangerous place for an African American was the idyllic wilderness of Southern trees bearing strange fruit, in which the lyncher's rope meted out racial violence and terror.

The most dangerous place for an African American was the doctor's office, where forced sterilizations and medical experimentation reduced human beings to objects.

The most dangerous place for an African American is in a country that will not provide health care for its most vulnerable citizens.

The most dangerous place for an African American is a public educational system whose racial biases stigmatize and track children while they are still toddlers.

The most dangerous place for an African American is a cradle to prison pipeline, which incarcerates at disproportionate rates, and spends three times as much money to imprison than to educate.

The most dangerous place for an African American is a country with food deserts, so that in the world's richest nation, some cannot access healthy, fresh, and affordable food.

The most dangerous place for an African American is a higher education system, which refuses to teach historical truth and disarms those who dare to challenge Western cultural supremacy.

The most dangerous place for an African American is a nation that refuses to see the connections between joblessness and economic instability and violence.

The most dangerous place for an African American is any place that allows systematic assaults against human dignity to operate under the guise of free speech.

The most dangerous place for an African American is a place where religion can be the "climax of all misnomers, the boldest of all frauds, and the grossest of all libels" when it seeks to shame, silence, and disparage.


© Yolanda Pierce