No Black People, No Red Lights
At the end of the year I went away for a few days to a small town in north Florida to stay in a remote cabin and “get away from it all.” It was quiet and calm and nice to stop for a few days and rest. However, going to a remote place brought an unexpected experience.
As we arrived at our cabin we realized we had forgotten to bring firewood with us. We decided to venture out to the nearby small town to get these supplies, and after a short drive, pulled over in front of an ice cream store with two locals standing out front. (I noticed two huge Trump flags flying out front. The driver of the car did not.)
My companion stepped out of the car and walked up to the older man standing in front of the store. He said “We are here to spend a few days in your lovely town” and the man said, without the slightest pause, “No black people, no red lights.” He said this immediately, in a way that showed it had been stated numerous times before. He was likely telling us the most important fact about his town, or perhaps what he was most proud of.
We drove back to our cabin with a new chill in the air. I had not considered that going to a remote place would take me to people with views that scared me. Most unsettling was the way this man clearly felt entitled to speak his racism with such bravado.
While I was frightened by this encounter, my companion stated that he was mostly just embarrassed for the man.
I know there is much work to do, and we have seen a parade of racism and white privilege all around us recently. Many have felt emboldened to share these views and opinions openly, inspired by leaders who used this hate and fear for their personal gain. Was this hatred and racism always there, but neatly tucked out of site? Has our society really turned to a place where this is no longer something to be ashamed of?
The behavior this man exhibited comes from fear and lack of experience with those unlike ourselves. Living in a small town with no black people may allow you to feel safe or superior, but it really just shows how small your life has become. People who fear gay people also will say that they don’t know anyone who is gay. Being exposed to those who are different is the best way to get past a fear of the unknown. As Mark Twain said, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
This experience has me asking many questions, but perhaps it is good to be awakened to the work there is still left to do. Maybe this racism needs to come out into the light before we can really address it and be inspired to do the work it demands of all of us. I hope to do my part, optimistic that the tide of history DOES move toward justice, peace, inclusion, and kindness. I will continue to volunteer for organizations that bring social change, share stories of diversity, and work to elect officials who fight against these forces. I encourage you to do the same.
Tim Hinton
February 3, 2021
