"I am black. I have therefore committed a crime. I am black. I know what is the problem with my black..."

I am black. I have therefore committed a crime. I am black. I know what is the problem with my black body, It exists. I therefore “am” a crime. “As a sentencing factor, race ranks with prior conviction for rape, armed robbery and even murder. The race factor here isn’t merely statistically significant, it is, as you might think, downright determinative” (Gates 1992,333) The black accused needs only to be “seen” to be guilty of a prior offense. His color is the evidence. He is guilty of Blackness.

The Black child learns what to do when he is approached for shoplifting., when he is approached for assaulting another, when he threatens the welfare of white children, when he is stopped by police. This moment of being stopped by the police, this (it seems) inevitable moment, stands waiting out there like FATE. For the black adult, this when is transformed to DONT. DONT jog for he may be mistaken for a criminal in flight. DONT drive an expensive automobile for he may be appearing to have stolen it.