From the Facebook of Levi Terrell, former RB at SEMO and owner of Terrell Consultants LLC;
So I usually don't speak on political or social issues, and it's because I don't like to "ruffle feathers" but I realize that because of where I grew up and the lack of diversity in that area, I am the only person of color that many of my childhood friends truly know. So my opinion on these issues may matter to some people.
So in light of everything that's going on I wanted to tell a little of my story. Maybe seeing how I was treated in the same community you grew up in will help give some perspective.
My name is Levi Terrell. I am biracial, but all people see is "Black". I grew up with my white mother in DeSoto MO.
Poulation: 6,333
92% White
2.5% Black
I went to Grandview High School in "Ware" MO. From 1st Grade to 10th grade I was the only person of color in my school. Let me clarify, not just the only black person, but the only non-white person... If I wouldn't have transferred in 11th grade, I would have been the first person of color to come up through that school system and graduate since the schools inception.
I remember the first day of first grade my mom was walking me into the building and a child was trying to get my attention from a nearby school bus window. "Hey Black Kid!" He yelled... As a 7 year old I had never had someone summon me using my skin color. This was my first interaction with another student at this school, It would not be the last time I was called "black kid" or worse.
I remember being around 8 or 9 years old when I first noticed a store employee following me around the store while I shopped. It was a dollar general and I had taken my allowance to buy my family Christmas gifts. My mother was in a different store in the plaza and planned to pick me up when she was done. After following me for 10 minutes she came up to me and asked if I had any money.
"Yes ma'am." I replied... Not knowing where this was going. She then said I needed to get what I wanted and leave the store. I didn't buy anything, I just went and sat on the curb until my mom came. I remember being confused. Why couldn't I be in the store? This would not be the last time I was followed in a store.
I remember in middle school, nervously asking a girl I liked to go with me to the school dance, only to be turned down because her parents would not let her go with a black kid. I was embarrassed...This would not be the last time a girl turned me down because her parents didn't approve of my melanin.
Once I got to high school I started playing sports. By this time most the kids in the school knew me. I had multiple people mention to me that I was "one of the good ones" referring to black people. But as I started interacting with kids from other schools through sports I started receiving more hate. "Get off our field ******"... "You're not welcome here boy"... I chalked it up as ignorance. Never retaliated. Confrontation made be uncomfortable, it still does.
Like most I started driving at 16. Unlike most I was pulled over around 20 times in Jefferson County between the age of 16 and 18. I only ever actually received two speeding tickets. The rest, as I look back now, were just harassment. On multiple occasions I would be asked to get out of my car and sit in the police car while the officer ran my information. Guess he expected me to run? Very rarely did only one cop question me. At least one, if not two cruisers would show up within a few minutes of being pulled over. I thought it was standard procedure, again as I look back now I know it was not.
I remember being in the back seat of my (white) friends car before and getting pulled over with them. The cop directed most his probing questions to me in the back seat. Except to ask my two friends in the front how they knew me... I remember sitting on the curb another time while 4 cops searched my vehicle because they suspected I had vandalized some school busses in the area (I hadn't). Oh and another time (again while sitting in a cop car while the officer ran my information) I saw the cops dimeaner completely change when he realized I was the Levi Terrell he had read about in the newspaper for my football accomplishments. Guess that was enough for him to trust me.
I learned to always be respectful with my words, tone and body language. ESPECIALLY around white people of authority. Because I knew everyone who was first meeting me in that community would have a pre-conceived notion about me. I make sure to take down my hood in low light situations, remove my hands from my pockets, even roll up my sleeves because I sometimes think that showing more skin will make me look more human. I have to show them I am "one of the good ones" right?
As an adult I go back to visit my home town and I still get looks. I still feel the eyes, especially when my mom and I are out together.
So if you are watching everything that is going on in Minneapolis or the other states currently protesting. Understand that this isn't just about George Floyd.
Although a man being choked to death in the street in broad daylight BY A MAN WHO HAS SWORN TO PROTECT HIM is big enough a deal to protest about.
Before you condemn them as "thugs" or "ghetto" know that they have been watched, followed, called names, counted out, and harassed their entire life. They have been told to "sit back and shut up" when they followed every peaceful measure in the book just hoping someone would hear their cry and help them. They have been shown that their life is less valuable then other's.
They have been pushed to a point where they can't even quarantine safely! Because cops are COMING INTO THEIR HOMES AND SHOOTING THEM! (Tatiana Jefferson, Aiyana Jones, Botham Jean, Breonna Taylor).
America is a beautiful place to live but it has MAJOR social issues that come from outdated and unfair systems. Even with my multiple prejudice interactions with cops I am mature enough to know that all cops are not bad. This is bigger then blaming cops. The entire judicial/government system needs to be reexamined and restructured.
For those who have reached out, acknowledging your privilege and asking how to use your voice more effectively THANK YOU!
For those wanting to better educate yourselves in what it's like to be black in America I have listed a few documentaries below. But also if you know a person of color just ask them. Ask them what types of experiences they have had in their lives. We all have a story and the more you get to know our story the more you will understand our plight.
"13th" (Netflix)
"When They See Us" (Netflix)
"I Am Not Your Negro" (Amazon Prime Video)
"Teach Us All" (Netflix)
And just in case anyone wants to pull the religious card please remember that Jesus was ALWAYS on the side of the oppressed and the hurting.
“Away with your noisy hymns of praise! I will not listen to the music of your harps. Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.”
Amos 5:23-24 NLT
#icantbreathe #georgefloyd
