Racially Profiled At The Hyatt

This pandemic is bringing out the worst in people.

Me and my mom were going to the PNC bank in downtown Indianapolis.

Moments before, we got harassed at another PNC bank downtown by some homeless guys.

We figured it would be safer inside a building.

But when we got in there, this white lady security guard asked

What business do you have in here?

We said the bank.

And we were dumbfounded.

She was like”

Oh I’m so sorry. We have had a lot of people laying around the building.

I’m like why did she target us? Or compare us to homeless people? It’s because we are black.

We are very unassuming and I’m not gonna wear $300 pair of tennis shoes to impress people.

She did say sorry, but she did stereotypes, and profiled us to begin with.

We are Hyatt consumers and fans: We go there to bank, eat food and stay overnight occasionally. In every city I go to, I look for Hyatt.

This is the first time this has happened in 20 years.

_______________________________

My history with racism (a summary just in case this is your first time at my Medium page reading my articles)

• Being light skinned long hair, I used to (and sometimes still) get a lot of hate from black people because they thought I experienced white privilege. “Because your whiter/whiter looking/ than us, you have certain advantages. Reality: Not true. Any privileges I got I worked on in life. I’m not white, but you sometimes are not seen as black. So there’s times when I don’t fit in no where. (Thanks to 23&Me, there’s still so much to explore about my background! ❤)
• I don’t pick friends based on skin color. I have friends of many different backgrounds.

• I hope they don’t mind me screenshotting their replies to recent statuses I saw, but it hits right on the nail on how I feel also. When a white friend/family member/whatever says or does something racist, it doesn’t surprise me anymore. I’ve seen and heard some crazy shit. It doesn’t carry shock value.
• One of my favorite Medium writers Cailtin Johnson wrote one of the most honest articles I’ve seen.

Just go read the article. I agree sis, the racism system is protected, and I see my a few of my own white friends subtly protect racism in their own way by.

A. Some of the comments I’ve heard them saying over the years. My former theater school told me that I wouldn’t get cast in anything because I was black. (Not true. I do well! It’s such a toxic mindset to suggest you can’t do anything because of your skin color. )

B. By staying silent when one of their friends say something out of line. They rather fit in and go along to get along.

C. By seeing racism around them, and not doing or saying nothing at all. Like I mentioned as a comment to Caitlin’s article, they act like they are in la la land living under a rock. (FYI*And I do appreciate when people of any race speaks out.) I don’t hate them for it, but I wonder if they are undercover racists. Or support the systems that keeps racism in place.

*My cousin made a stellar post on Facebook. I’ll share it later.

• Life is hard on everyone. I don’t run around talking about who has what advantages over me or play victim to get a handout. But racism does exist. I will admit I experienced more racism in school than anywhere else. I do not experience racism as much in the real world. It rarely happens like what happened at the Hyatt. When it does, I call it out.
• I’ve experienced racism from both black and white people. The stories are too long, leave me a note and I’ll email you stories (or other posts where I talk about it). I love having civilized conversation where we can grow together.
• Lamar hits another point to finish off on. I personally stopped wasting my time with many of my white friends and family because they don’t care, don’t acknowledge racism, act like this stuff is being made up, are silent and don’t speak out. One of my favorite entrepreneurs @Daniel Dipiazza pointed out how his numbers started to drop on Instagram. That’s another thing some of them do, run and hide instead of facing the music. I also suspect that some of them are low-key happy that they are ahead of someone, and don’t want to stop the system that keeps them ahead and gives them advantages. It’s uncomfortable for them to talk about it. It’s what they say, what they do, and how they act (keeping prejudices, stereotypes alive by thinking everyone is a certain way and so on. Like I said above, I never hated on those who have any advantage over me. I choose to spend my time productively moving forward and finding my own advantages in my own way. I will occasionally write an article like this to speak my mind. I choose not to ruffle my feathers over it. Like Lamar, I choose to live my life in peace. F*** it and good luck everyone.