Because I'm Black by Jasmine Carroll 

About

 

This African-American man just wants to get the Chinese food he ordered home to his mom and dad, but when blue and red lights start flashing in his rear-view mirror, it's a chance he may never get. 

 

Keywords

 

Cops, Realism, Color, Pop-Culture, Dark, Heavy

 

Excerpt

 

          I was shaking, my voice was labored and though it was sixty-two degrees outside in the night rain, beads of sweat accumulated around my hair line and a few slipped down my cheeks.

 

          “You seem nervous,” the cop said.

 

          ​I was.

 

          I was far too black.  “I’m a little nervous,” I said.

 

          “Why’s that?” he asked.

 

          It was a trap. “Cops make me nervous,” I said.

 

          The cop raised an eyebrow. “Why’s that?” he asked. Another trap.

 

          “I’m not sure,” I said, keeping my breathing as even as I could manage. Even though my face was itching under the sweat, I didn’t dare move my hands from the steering wheel. I had a hungry mom at home.

 

          “Sir, do you know why I pulled you over?” the cop asked.

 

          I shook my head. “I don’t.”

 

          “Your right tail light is out. Were you aware?” the cop asked. It was a distinct possibility; it wasn’t even my car. I couldn’t tell him that though. I’m too black to tell him it’s my dads. He’d assume I was lying. He’d shoot me on the spot.

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