Two years ago, I found myself trying to break into my friends’ apartment.
I had coordinated their wedding a few days earlier, and they had since departed for their honeymoon. A box from the wedding was supposed to go to one of the guests, only to end up in their apartment. Now the guest wanted the box, and I, having a key to their home, needed to retrieve it.
My friends had warned me that the key had a tendency to stick, though that proved to be an understatement. After 10 minutes of wrestling with it, my hands sore from twisting and straining, I gave up. The box would have to wait. But I thought about the maintenance man I had seen across the courtyard as I struggled with the door; surely he would have a functional key.
The request was ridiculous, I knew: I had never seen this person before. He had absolutely no reason to believe my reasons for needing to enter the apartment. But I figured I had nothing to lose, so I waved him over and asked if he would let me in.
Much to my surprise, he did — no questions asked. Even more shocking was the fact that he unlocked the door and immediately left, not bothering to wait around and make sure that I didn’t ransack the place. He let a complete stranger into an apartment that wasn’t his and walked away.
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Liz, I found this article to be very informative and captures the essence of race relations very nicely. Keep up the great writing.
Georgia State Rep. B.J. Pak
Thank you so much for the kind words! I appreciate them a lot.
I thought about this piece while I marched in protest of the Ferguson decision today. Thank you for putting my feelings into words that I could hold on to and act upon. What has helped me start to speak up is to find allies to practice with, to stand beside. They have been invaluable.
Meanwhile, today’s piece: spot on.
diane: honored and humbled by your words. thank you. and i totally agree with you — having allies is a game-changer.