justplainbil

Just Plain Bill

Driving While Black (DWB) –

and I'm not even black

Soon after I got my driver's license (a long time ago), I was driving my 19-year-old Dodge at night near my house. Without warning but with certainty I hadn’t broken any laws, a police car complete with lights flashing and siren screaming stopped me.

Two officers got out of that police car. They came up to each side of the front windows and shined their flashlights in the faces of my passenger and me. After they saw who we were…a 16-year-old white boy and his 15-year-old friend… who was black…they retreated to their car and engaged in a heated conversation.

They then returned to my car window and I was told I was “turning the corner too quickly.” (I knew my rusty old car wasn’t capable of “burning rubber”.)  Next, I received a citation for a violation I didn’t know even existed. One policeman then mentioned they were looking for two black kids who were reported acting suspiciously.

This instance from my past came to mind when I recently attended the funeral of a childhood friend – the friend who was in my car that long time ago. While talking with my late friend’s brother, it occurred to me that I was stopped for DWB – driving while black - because the first person the policeman saw was my friend. 

I also remember that “turning the corner too quickly” violation cost me my driving privileges for 90 days. When you’re 16, It seemed like a lifetime.  

I’ve hoped that times would have changed over the past five decades, but I'm sorry to say that's probably not true as we continually hear of complaints of police stereotyping and profiling drivers based on the color of their skin.

Will things ever change?