Now is the time, realzies Cynthia Franks of Riverview, to share a set of experiences that changed from puzzling to disturbing.
They involve being pulled over for no clear reason while driving her Chevy Venture van.
"I have not told this story before. I worry how it will be received," begins a blog post by the part-time educator, a Wayne State graduate ('98). "This post is not for people of color because they already know it. This is for white people living in suburbs and small towns who think this is a big-city problem."
Last week's essay is titled "A white woman, racism and a poodle." It's true-life parable about a front-page topic.
After working in New York City from 2000-11, Franks returned to Southeast Michigan and is a substitute middle school teacher in five districts served by a Grand Rapids-based staffing company.
Cynthia Franks: "This happens daily to black Americans." (Photo: Facebook/2008)
"The first year I was back in Michigan, I got pulled over five times," she posts.
Each time it was for impeding traffic and I did not get a ticket. ...
The traffic stops were unlike any I had experienced in the past. ... The first one was in Monroe County on Dixie Highway near Sterling State Park. I was coming home from the park with my dogs. The sun was setting and it was twilight. My poodle, Merlin, sat in the passenger seat and Indy, a Jack Russel Terrier, was in the back. ...
Same thing happened in Flat Rock and Huron Township. Impeding traffic, didn't get a ticket. On the third stop, I asked one of the officers if impeding traffic was a new law in Michigan and he got a little snappy.
Franks wondered if her dark grey 1998 vehicle drew attention because of its age. "I was mad at being singled out because I don’t drive a new car," she recalls.
Merlin the poodle. (Photo: Cynthia Franks)
Then the unimagined reason clicked into place:
One day, sitting at a restaurant having breakfast with my Dad, our old neighbor came in and said: "There's a black man stealing your van. He's behind the wheel right now." I paused a minute and realized he was referring to Merlin. Bells went off.
I was furious. I wanted to go home and rage at every police department that pulled me over. I wasn't impeding traffic, it's not my van, it's not my driving – they thought Merlin was a black man! That's why I kept getting pulled over. ... How could I be so stupid?
The middle-aged blogger, who hasn't seen flashing lights in the rear-view since Merlin died, knows her trip-interruption inconveniences were trifles in comparison to what others endure.
I cannot imagine having it happen several times a week my entire life. As a white woman, getting stopped by the police is scary; it makes my heart race and my stomach hurt. I'm sure a black person's fear and rage is a hundred times greater.
This happens daily to black Americans. It's not right.
Epilogue
"Post is at 10,000 views just for today! Been fielding comments and emails most of the day," the writer posts Tuesday on Facebook. "A lot of people are talking about this. That was the goal."
