July 20th, 2007
Oak Park, Mecca of Diversity
I moved to the Chicago area in 1995. My wife and I wanted to live in a close in suburb and be in a situation where we could feel welcome. We had lived in a largely white St Louis suburb and were not a part of the community. Our next door neighbor did not speak to us for 3 years after moving in. One day in the yard Oscar introduced himself. He was having a underground sprinkler system put in and the workman had to step on my property in order to do the job. I told Oscar I was glad to meet him and I am sorry it took 3 years, but I was not hung up about the workmen walking on my grass. A few week later I was startled by Oscar running across the St. Louis Airport to warmly greet me like a long lost friend. From that point on Oscar was very nice but for some reason I never did warm up to him. We had elementary aged children that very few of the neighbor kids would play with. The few black families in Chesterfield, Mo, included many pretentious families, which for me a poor boy from a mining community, made them hard to identify with. We did make some good friends but could not wait to move from St Louis, a city in which black people still have to know there place.
We were excited to discover Oak Park, IL, a village with a national reputation for diversity including; racial diversity, income diversity and sexual orientation diversity. We had black neighbors and our kids had friends that looked like them. We enjoy the community and its close proximity to Chicago. I wonder about the income diversity because the average home that needs works sells for over a half million dollars.
I have noticed many corporations are now in the suburbs and many black families are forced into isolated lives and surrounded by phony neighbors. It is a price for success. We thought we have found utopia in Oak Park. Our first home was a bungalow which we sold in 1998 for 415 thousand dollars. We then moved into a much bigger home on a large lot in the estate section of Oak Park Our problems with the police increased then to the point where we are harassed worst than in any community I have ever lived or my wife. Keep in mind this is a benchmark community for diversity and inclusion. Oak Park borders the heavily black west side of Chicago. I have to conclude many of these liberal whites are scared of black folks and the police’s job is to protect white folk even if it means demeaning blacks. I want to reinforce, we enjoy Oak Park and it diversity but when it comes to race relations and the police, the more things change the more things stay the same. As follows are a few of our encounters with the police.
The Police followed me and my young son in my Benz riding so close to the bumper that I pulled over. The police did the same but never got out of their car and eventuality pulled away.
My wife was pulled over for not stopping at a yield sign and the officer became agitated at her for pointing out to him, it was a yield sign and not a stop sigh.
A female police officer asked me what I had on my hip when I was wearing a fanny pack. I showed it to her and she replied, I thought it was a gun. That explained her aggressive manner.
My eighth grade son, at the time, was in our back yard reading a book. The police accosted him and asked for ID when he informed them he lived there. When I question the police, they said they had reports of a suspicious person in the yard. When I asked what about my son was suspicious, they could not provide guidance
I was driving my wife’s BMW X5, when a cop pulled up on my rear. I was a block or so from home. I approached a stop sign and made sure I came to a complete stop. I was shocked when the lights came on and the cop stopped me. He wanted license and registration. I asked the cop, did I do something wrong, he said I stopped on the white line and not behind it. I blew my top and said, do you know who the fuck I am.? I was his neighbor; he lived in subsidized housing under a community police program and had a small house around the corner from mine.
My high school daughter was sexuality harassed by a police office and repeatedly pulled over. I wanted to handle this situation but my wife did not want any more problems in the form of retaliations
We recently filed a complaint with the internal affairs dept. My wife was standing in front of our home speaking to a handy man. A squad car pulled up. The black on the outside police officer, intent on protecting white folk, got out of the car. He came with a menacing look, legs spread, arms crossed and said hello and proceeded to stare, he got the proverbial tip of a suspicious person in the neighborhood. He was disrespectful and talked down to my wife.
This is the life of blackinbusiness. Success allows you to afford a better life style but to many we remain an inferior part of the species, the human race. Do other black families face this issue. Any thoughts on this?
July 20th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
Wow. This sounds like something out of a movie. It’s sad that we still face some of the same prejudices and it shows some things never change.
I’ve never been in this type of situation, but I know a lot of people who dislike the police for this very reason. Cops are there to serve and protect, but it sounds like it only applies to a certain group. Thanks for sharing. Hopefully it will help people see that we are not overreacting when it comes to racial profiling.
July 20th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Theo, all of this has taken place over a 12 year period of time but i have witnessed over aggresive police actions
July 22nd, 2007 at 7:50 am
Jim, as I read this I felt very sad. Only thing I can say is that I wish you and your family lived next to me.
We have to ask ourselves, “Who is our neighbor?” The Lord asks us to love our neighbor as we would him.
Neighboring and hospitality goes one by one and it starts with me reaching out…
July 22nd, 2007 at 2:16 pm
Jim, your story makes me sad and at the same time it challenges me and I hope it challenges you — because I deeply respect you.
It also reminded me of a time I dropped into check on a mistaken parking ticket in downtown Vancouver and I felt the same ice in the policeman behind the counter as if he ran a police state and I was his peon.
My reaction to him and the tone I used did not have the effects I’d hoped - to change the tone of police who speak with positive tone and respect to law abiding citizens.
We’ve become a warrior nation - and we’ve built fear rather than respect among people! While I am sorry for the stories I read in this post - I also see you as a leader in the field!
I longed to see solutions here to help people like me from using poor tone when confronted with ice from a policeman half my age. Jim, you have solutions — I know it! Keep them coming - because people like me are listening and learning.
As for my one response many years late to the encounter that still bothers me — I personally have learned to use and teach a tone for effective communication - one that offers a shot at solutions whenever we spot problems. Help to lead a more peaceful way Jim — you have so much WISDOM FOR SUCH LEADERSHIP!
That’s my 2-bits when I read your well laid out case for freedom, equity, respect and more humanity that could grow a great nation!
July 23rd, 2007 at 10:36 am
Robyn, it would be fun to have you as a neighbor. This thing with the police is something I live with and the majority of black men, not in denail, live with. I can deal with it but my family has a harded time. To always be treated like a suspect, even on your own property, can cause confidence problems. Thank you for your comment.
July 23rd, 2007 at 10:43 am
Ellen, thank you for your kind comments. I wanted to share this story because it is a potential timebomb for us and other blacks.This thing about racial profiling is real. Even superstars; Michael Jordan’s wife complained to her hometown police in Highland Park, IL. The reason? Most of the time her black friends visited they were stopped by police.Oprah was turned away from a Paris store because she was black.This post is not a complaint, just the facts
July 23rd, 2007 at 10:09 pm
Jim,
I talked about something very similar on my blog, Driving While Black (DWB). The thing that hurts me the most, in your situation, was the black cop. You’d think he’d recognize that black folks have come up. Or maybe he was just hatin’.
July 24th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
Simmering blackman, I read your driving while black a while back, we all deal with this issue. I am glad another successful black spoke up about police and unfair treatment. I think some young folks that are black may be surprised this stuff still happens
July 25th, 2007 at 1:39 am
Hey there JD,
Your community of Oak Park, IL according to many
click throughs on my part is presented in awesome
display for our computer screen and must be real joy
that You have overcome so many obstacle. I’m really
paying Attention, are your ready for the blessing.
I’m so happy that I know you from being a reader
here at You Blog. Because of the conditions of
“the heart” of mankind, some people still want
You to be constantly identified as an over-
achiever. Yea, that’s still true but it has it’s
greatest reward being spent for Christ sakes.
We keep trying to deal with symptoms and the enemy
of mankind keeps producing more symptoms. Matter of
fact he specializes in keeping mankind chasing the
symptoms. I learned longtime ago as a Fire Fighter,
You’ve got to get to the seat of the fire to effect
real extinguishment.
Yea, in the case of mankind it’s the heart, we keep
screaming that it is “the source” of the words “we”
mankind is hearing, that is were the problem rest.
True unity is in “the heart”, and it is God’s will
that the WORD be the Mind of mankind, we can all be
one in His Son Jesus Christ. Think about that, why
we have racial profiles going on, because of the
heart. Love brings about a real blameless lifestyle
before God.And His everlasting Dominion calls for
one in Jesus Christ. What a fellowship, what a joy.
Imagine what it’s like to really show love to
another, certainly we would not be disrepectful and
rude to a neighbor. Can you see why God must be in
charge of our heart everywhere we are? This is just
a snap shot of this Big picture, Thank You for
allowing us to see the depth of our heart that would
even try and forget God. Keep Hope Alive!
July 25th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
Jim, I fully agree with your insights, we shall overcome
August 6th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
well. It’s not just blacks or w.e. I am caucasian and lived here in OP for 3 years now. So far i had 7 encounters with police. 4 times i’ve been stopped riding a bicycle - for the most bs reasons. One of them was because it looked to the police officer as if i was going to hit the curb on the turn - and he thought i was drunk. (i was not drunk and the only reason it looked to him like i was going to hit the curb is because i was riding very fast and taking turns most people cant). One time i was just walking in MY alley and got pulled over for walking in the alley. Even though i told the officer that this was my house she still searched me and demanded crack and heroin, literally. (She asked “do you have any illegal drugs on you like crack or heroin or weapons?”).. So back to my point - dont blame everything on color of your skin
August 6th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Bill, I just learned something! Thanks for the compelling comment
August 7th, 2007 at 1:17 am
I have to agree that issues between people still exist in this country. Just like there maybe discrimination going on in other places there are certain individuals in justice system. Considering there are about 30 patrol cars cruising around Oak Park at any time of the day. But these issues are everywhere. If it’s not a race issue then it’s nationality, if not nationality then religion. I guess we are all not so far from sticks and stones