Last Weekend

Last weekend, one of my friends found herself being harassed by men she didn't know on two different occasions Saturday night. Both incidents involved young black males; the first was a man asking her to come to him and then following her when she tried to leave until he saw a group of young white men outside the Library. The second incident happened 20 minutes later when a group of 5 young black guys came in and were knocking on her door saying "Where the white woman at?"

Naturally, my friend, who was home alone, was terrified and unsure of what to do. She called me and asked if I could come over and keep her company. While I was there they knocked on the window and yelled for her some more. Later, when she was telling the story to her boyfriend, emphasizing the fact they were all black. This made me wonder if it had been a white guy and a group of white guys, rather than blacks, would she have been so afraid. It is difficult to tell when people are using race as an identifier, or if they are suggesting more when they describe their experiences.