Parallel Tracks: My Subway Experience While Being Black

Allow me to introduce myself. I have deep brown eyes, larger sized lips, a bigger nose, and hair that is mostly dark brown- black save for the few yet noticeable strands of gray that my parents like to attribute to wisdom. I however believe it comes from stress. In addition to brown skin akin to the color of Arabica coffee beans, I was born with these features and will continue to have most of these features for the rest of my life. {Except for the hair based on how my dad and granddad look.} 

While I am grateful for these features, these features that make up me, a black boy in New York City, have had their fair share of struggles. One moment that pops into mind happened last year, May 6, 2022, when I was coming home after picking up some things and running errands for my parents when I did not have any fares left on my student MetroCard. There was no token booth in the station and no MTA worker around and the machines to pay to refill MetroCards were not working.

I remember asking around if I could pay someone three dollars to get through the door and go home. After asking a couple of people, I offered an old man three dollars if I could go through. He rejected my offer and held the door. After hesitating, I noticed that other people were coming and went through the emergency exit door. I followed the other people and before I could really go anywhere, I was stopped by the police and immediately told, "You know people like you can go to jail because of fare beating.” After explaining my situation and apologizing, I was brought to the platform and harassed about whether I truly did not have enough money or whether I was lying, as well as if I was really a student despite me showing him my ID as well as questioning whether I even went to school that day. Despite taking my APUSH exam, in addition to being told that “people like you will go through leaps and bounds and go the extra mile to not get caught,” all the while my mom was on the phone while Caucasian people also went through the door in front of our faces. 

This situation did make me a bit angry admittedly after I came home, however I was more so confused. We all went through the door and after explaining the situation and the officers verifying whether what I said was true or not, I wondered why me? I could answer that question myself, but that situation made me more interested in understanding implicit biases, such as immediately jumping to the conclusion that all people ‘like me’ present a threat to peace or are a nuisance or don’t have pure intentions. It definitely was a life changing experience that forced me to be more alert and listen to others, instilling within me a burning desire to challenge and transform the flawed narratives born from implicit biases and helping me forge a path towards empathy, understanding, and meaningful change

Emmanuel Annan Jr is a high school Senior from New York City.