Being Black in Our Neighborhood—and in America
Phil Bowling-Dyer
January 1, 2001
Sunday night, 24 September, 2000, started out uneventfully enough. My wife Leslie and I, both campus ministers at the University of California, Berkeley, led our usual full schedule of Bible studies and leadership training sessions. I stopped by a student leader's dorm room to talk for a while, and a little before midnight Leslie and I left campus, driving the short distance home to our Lakeshore neighborhood. On the way, we picked up a few staples at the local Safeway supermarket, then headed towards our apartment, ready for a good night's sleep.
We noticed an unusual number of police cars in our neighborhood, but didn't think much of it—they must be looking for somebody, I thought. A police officer in a patrol car briefly flashed his spotlight into our car. We turned the corner onto our street. Suddenly the officer, who had followed us around the corner, turned on his lights.
Do we have a taillight out? I wondered. We pulled over.
Within moments, six more police cars had arrived, lights blazing and sirens wailing. A voice from a loudspeaker told me to roll down my window. The voice told me to open my car door, keeping my hands visible at all times. Take four steps away from the car, keeping your hands clearly visible, I was told. The instructions went on: Face the car. Bend down on both knees. Put your hands on the ground. Lie face down. Turn your face to the right.
Then the instructions were repeated for Leslie—and for a nonexistent third passenger. My wife and I were lying face-down in the street. Curious neighbors began emerging from their houses and looking out of their windows as we were tightly handcuffed and taken to separate police cars.
The officer in the car I was taken to took my wallet from my back pocket, received ...
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