“Do you have to go alone?” That was the question my mother always asked me when I would tell her that I was going on a road trip by myself. Sometimes it would be as close as Sewickley or as far away as North Carolina. She never wanted me to travel alone. I could hear my mom’s words playing in my head when I heard the Sandra Bland story, a young woman traveling from Chicago to Texas all alone. I wish someone could have made that trip with her.
I’ve only been pulled over once; I think the silver Corvette attracted the attention of the officer or it could have been that I was exceeding the speed limit. I was driving back to Pittsburgh from Washington, D.C., and I was asked the usual questions, where was I coming from and where was I going and did I know how fast I was going? I answered the questions and gave the officer my license, registration and insurance card. All went well, I got a warning and off I went driving the speed limit all the way home. That is how the Bland story should have ended; with a warning and she could have driven to her destination.
Last week, I was listening to the Joe Madison show on SiriusXM Radio. He told a story that I tell often, a story about driving down south with a picnic basket because you could not stop and eat at the restaurants along the way. I’ll never forget the time we forgot the picnic basket. We had gotten to Breezewood and we had to turn back and go get it. If we didn’t we wouldn’t have anything to eat. I tell this story to young White people that I work with and they look at me like I have two heads. Frankly, I don’t think the young Black people believe it either.
Sometimes I would be afraid when we went down south. I would watch the news on television and see the stories of marches and protests. I saw the dogs attacking people that looked like me and attacks with fire hoses and batons. I would worry that this might happen to our family. But it never did.
I’m glad the Sandra Bland story is being investigated. I too don’t think someone would take their life just because they were in a jail cell after a traffic violation. I would think her main focus would be getting out and getting to her new job. But as my mom used to also say “dead men tell no tales.”
In all of these cases where Black people have lost their lives at the hands of the police we don’t get a chance to hear the other side. What was said, why did you run, what happened in your cell, what happened in the back of the police car? The attorney, the family and the media try to piece together a story that makes sense. If you get pulled over, comply, be polite and live.
(Email the columnist at debbienorrell@aol.com)
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