Do As I Say

Do As I Say (short story)

I had never been pulled over by the cops before. I just hoped it was for a good reason. There was nothing I did wrong. I was within the speed limit, seatbelt was on, my six-year-old daughter was buckled into her car seat, and nothing was wrong with the car. While waiting for the cop to get out of his car, I tried to calm my daughter down. I did not want her to start crying or misbehaving. When the white male cop walked up to my window, he said, "License and Registration, please." I quickly handed it to him, and he noticed me being nervous.

"Do you know why I pulled you over sir?" the cop said.

"No, I don't know why."

"You haven't done anything wrong; I just want to make sure you're safe." He said with a chuckle. 

"Safe from what exactly?" I asked.

"Well, you know with all the protesting going on." He said glancing at my daughter.

"Actually, I'm on my way to support one of the sites."

He looked at me strangely and said, "Why would you attend one of those?"

"I would attend it because black lives do matter and they deserve safety as well, Officer Whitmore." I said slyly reading his badge.

He stiffened and whispered, "But you're not black, you're mixed."

I could not believe the words that came out of his mouth. I sat there with my mouth open for like two minutes. 

"I may not be fully black, but that doesn't mean I'm not black at all! My dad was black, and my mother was pale white. They created a beautiful child and taught him what was right and what was wrong. You sir are very wrong for thinking that I would not protest for the black people in this country. You do not realize and understand all the things black people have done for you, and for cops like you to be killing them for no reason at all makes me sick to my stomach. Cops like you are so quick to assume that black people are bad, and you all do that because you fear them. I pray that black people get to know why one day. It is not fair that black people are so mistreated in this country. God made us all equally when he created us. It is a shame black people must act out and protest for their safety. Black people know it is not all cops who are racist, but because they have seen more racist cops in this world, they choose to put their anger on all of you guys. I honestly pray that you cops will have a piece in your heart that you all can see the problem in this. I hope God gives you the right mindset to act in the right way towards people of color. Not just black people, but Asians, Mexicans, Canadians, every single person on this sphere-shape object sitting in outer space we call our world. You may say it is our world, but you are treating it like it is only yours. Sharing means you care, so with all do respect, share for when you care and care for when you share. Do you clearly understand all I just said?'

"Yes." Officer Whitmore said stuttering as he sobbed into his hands. I gave him some tissue, but he cried more and more. I could tell this man had done terrible things and he was terribly sorry for it. Although, just apologizing would not be enough. Now I know I speak for all people of color when I say that these apologetic police officers need to make their apologies nationwide. 

Moments later, Officer Whitmore cleaned himself up and told me to have a good night. A few days later, my entire family and Officer Whitmore's family were protesting. On that day, Officer Whitmore told me to call him by his first name, Randy. There was no longer an Officer Whitmore anymore because Randy refused to have a title that defined him of what he really wasn't.