BLM Stories: Recent Episodes
BLM Stories
We're on a mission to collect as many short stories as we can focused on finding solutions for racism. Website: blmstories.org
Ukunda, Kenya: In 2015, Muthoni and her friend went to a restaurant and were ignored over white people that the waitresses deemed more important to serve.
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Questions for discussion and reflection:
• Did you know that racism isn’t just carried out by non-people-of-color, but sometimes by Black people too? How do you think that would make you feel—that even some people that look like you treat you as “other?”
• Have you had experiences in your country where people that looked like you treated you differently that you may not have picked up on at the time, but now looking back, it was probably racism?
• If you’re white and have traveled, have you thought about how different your experience probably was from someone with darker skin?
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Find Muthoni on her blog, YouTube, Instagram, or Twitter.
Dallas, Texas: In 2020, Josh was playing basketball with some friends, and two white guys came up and kept trying to start a fight.
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Questions for discussion and reflection:
• What do you think about the white guys being able to harass Josh and the other people on the basketball court, and yet no one could do much about it for fear of being shot?
• Someone could’ve called the cops on the white guys for harassment, but what are some reasons why a Black person would be hesitant do that?
• Why does the misconception about Black people being violent still live in certain people’s minds? Especially with hate crimes like this happening by non-people-of-color? What steps does society need to take to help eradicate this lie?
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Find Josh on YouTube, Instagram, or Twitter.
Seoul, South Korea: In 2017, Tiffany went to a spa with her friends, and a woman there was convinced that she intentionally tanned her skin to be dark—she couldn’t believe she was born that way.
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Questions for discussion and reflection:
• Have you ever encountered someone that looked so different than you that it surprised you? How did you react in that moment? Did you feel like it was an appropriate reaction?
• What are some examples of appropriate ways to express curiosity and an intent to learn about a person that is different from you?
• Not everyone will have the opportunity to travel to different countries, but in what ways can they still learn about different cultures and types of people?
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Find Tiffany on YouTube or Instagram.
Columbia, Maryland: In 2018, J was in an arcade, and a father assumed J was a thief and a threat to his daughter.
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Questions for discussion and reflection:
• How do you think it affects a child to be wrongfully seen as a criminal? How do you think it affects them when it happens over and over again throughout their life?
• If that father had called the cops on J, who’s side do you think the cop would’ve taken and how do you think the situation would've played out?
• In what ways does police training need to change to break down this stereotype that a person with dark skin is dangerous, and help them learn how to better handle conflicts without violence?
• What is your “cup” that you’re contributing to this issue? How can you help put out the fire?
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Find J on YouTube or Instagram.
Salisbury, Maryland: In 2016, a customer called in to Makiah’s work, and thought that the color of Makiah’s skin made her unfit to help her.
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Questions for discussion and reflection:
• Why do you think the woman on the phone even thought to ask whether Makiah was white or Black? Because of her name? The way she talked? Something else? In what ways can that be problematic to assume someone’s race based off those things?
• Why do you think the woman cared what color Makiah’s skin was? If someone’s skin doesn’t determine their skill level or competence in a task, why do people have assumptions that it does?
• When confronted with a situation where you could choose to lie about who you are (to potentially make things easier) or choose to be honest about who you are, (like Makiah), which option do you lean towards? Why?
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Find Makiah on YouTube.
Manchester, England: In 2019, Ehis was on the train home when a woman saw a sticker on his laptop from college and made a very ignorant remark.
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Questions for discussion and reflection:
• Have you ever avoided an opportunity because you would’ve been a minority there? Did you regret it?
• In what ways will you show up as a “door-breaker” moving forward? Or how will you empower others to be “door-breakers?”
• Knowing that increasing diversity in universities is a slow process, what can universities do right now to encourage diverse groups to join them?
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Find Ehis on YouTube, Instagram, or Twitter.
Ferguson, Missouri: In 2014, Tobi was driving and randomly got pulled over by a cop, and the only thing racing through his mind were images of all the Black men before him that had been murdered by police.
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Questions for discussion and reflection:
• What training should be happening in police academies to better handle these situations and help officers understand that just because a Black person is nervous, doesn’t necessarily mean they’re guilty of something, they might just be scared for their life? How can you as an individual push for better training to be implemented within your local police?
• Do you think it’s necessary for officers that are performing traffic violations to carry guns? Why or why not?
• Do you think this type of fear instilled within Black people (especially black men) prevents them from calling the police when they need help? What kind of impact do you think that would have on a person—being unsure if they can rely on the people that are supposed to be there to protect them?
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Find Tobi on Instagram or connect with him on LinkedIn.
Morristown, New Jersey: In 2020, Matthew and his friend were looking for his lost phone outside with flashlights, and someone passing by assumed they were breaking into cars.
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Questions for discussion and reflection:
• Why is it dangerous for someone to believe a crime is being committed just because someone is Black?
• If a cop shares similar views as the person who reported Matthew’s “crime,” how would that effect how they react in high-stress situations with a person of color?
• For non-people-of-color—if you were constantly treated as if you were a criminal based on how you looked, how would that shape your view of yourself and your view of the world?
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Find Matthew on YouTube, Instagram, or Twitter.
New York City, New York: In 2016, Starr was sitting in Barnes & Noble reading and a lady told her she couldn’t sit there because of the color of her skin.
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Questions for discussion and reflection:
• Why do you think none of the people around Starr said anything to help the situation, especially the employees?
• If you witnessed this happening, how would you react and act?
• Regarding the comment from the guy on the train—what specifically about a Black person would make a white person so uncomfortable that they would want to move? Try to define the reasoning behind the discomfort.
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Find Starr on YouTube or Instagram.
Richmond, Virginia: In 2018, Cameron tried to rekindle an old friendship with a white person, but she would not stop using the n word around him and didn’t understand why it was so wrong.
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Questions for discussion and reflection:
• What is your opinion of the n word? Who should be allowed to say it? Or should no one be allowed to? Why?
• Do you have any friends in your life that are disrespectful or hateful to another race? If so, why do you keep them in your life?
• Have you ever treated something that a Black person said, or treated an opinion they had, as something that applies to all Black people? Going a step further—have you ever seen a Black person do something and apply it to all Black people, even though every Black person is different?
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Find Cameron on YouTube, Instagram, or Twitter.
New York City, New York: In 2016, Addie went out for a birthday party and ended up getting denied entry to a club because her skin was too dark.
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Questions for discussion and reflection:
• If you’re with someone that experiences racism like Addie did, how will you be an ally for them? What will you do in that moment to help them?
• The guy celebrating his birthday handled the situation very poorly. What are some ways he could have changed his actions to help the situation?
• For business owners—what steps are you taking to make sure something like this does not happen in your company?
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Find Addie on YouTube, Instagram, or Twitter.
Chicago, Illinois: In 2019, Lauren was leaving the mall with her purchases, and a security guard decided to assume she was stealing.
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Questions for discussion and reflection:
• If a coworker at your work acts inappropriate towards a customer (or fellow coworker) of a different race, are there qualified people and processes in place to take action and give necessary consequences? If not, how can you push for those people and processes to be implemented?
• What do you think the crowd of people thought when they saw Lauren get escorted by the security guard? How is that image problematic when the crowd may assume she was stealing when she actually wasn’t?
• Have you ever witnessed a potential crime involving a person of color and assumed they must have done something bad? Why?
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Find Lauren on YouTube, Instagram, or Etsy.
Lake Charles, Louisiana: Although Dorcas wanted to protect her son for a little longer from the realities of being a Black man in America, he picked up on those realities far too young, stripping him of the innocence he deserves.
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Questions for discussion and reflection:
• If you’ve already discussed race with your children, how did the conversation go? Was there anything you wish you conveyed better?
• If you haven’t discussed race with your children yet, how are you preparing what you’re going to say?
• Since Black children will inevitably have to have conversations with their parents about their race, do you think parents of white children should be having these hard conversations with them too to understand their privilege? Why or why not?
• What do you think is an appropriate age to start having these discussions?
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Find Dorcas on her website, YouTube, or Instagram.
Atlanta, Georgia: In 2015, TJ drove by a group of guys proudly waving the Confederate flag and decided to confront them to understand why.
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Questions for discussion and reflection:
• What does the Confederate flag mean to you?
• When you see an action, word, or symbol that’s offensive, do you speak up to offer your perspective and experience? Why or why not?
• If someone approached you to offer their opinion regarding something you believe, how would you receive it? Would you be open and vulnerable, or closed off and defensive?
Toms River, New Jersey: In 2019, Adeeyah went out to celebrate her birthday and was caught off guard by the stranger who decided to single her out for being Black.
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Questions for discussion and reflection:
• The man that made racist remarks is someone’s friend, someone’s son, someone’s coworker. His racist behavior has most likely gone unchecked in his personal life, so he feels comfortable acting that way in public. Do you have a family member or a coworker like that? Have you ever called them out on it?
• If you witnessed a stranger being targeted, would you say something? What if it was happening to a friend? If no to the first question, but yes to the second, why is it different?
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Find Adeeyah on YouTube, Instagram, or Twitter.
Columbia, Missouri: In 2019, Saige experienced an inexcusable interaction with a customer, but witnessed someone who decided to take action and not just be a bystander.
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Questions for discussion and reflection:
• Have you ever witnessed an act of racism where you were a bystander? If so, what kept you from speaking out against it?
• If you see someone being bullied in the future, in what ways will you help the situation like the woman from the story did?
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Find Saige on YouTube or Instagram.
Land O' Lakes, Florida: In 2019, a department store manager let an inappropriate analogy slip out to one of her employees, Niah, that needed to be reported, but HR didn’t seem to take it very seriously.
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Questions for discussion and reflection:
• How do you think Andie could have better handled the confrontation with Niah and the HR manager to come to a better outcome?
• Do you believe you “don’t see color”? Do you know why it’s offensive to say?
• How should the department store upper management now handle the situation to prevent future incidents like this?
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Find Niah on Youtube, Instagram, or Twitter.
State College, Pennsylvania: While at college, Aksum encountered a couple guys that seemed to treat him differently, and he assumed they had to be racist.
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Questions for discussion and reflection:
• The first time you encountered someone that looked different than you, how did you act around them? Did you have any assumptions about who they were? How did you overcome that?
• When someone that looks different than you treats you differently, what is your first assumption about them?
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Find Aksum on Instagram or Youtube.
Hull, England: Yomi learned that his son’s friend would regularly use racial slurs and decided that was not acceptable.
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Questions for discussion and reflection:
• When you witness an act of racism, where is your line? What will you allow to take place and what is unacceptable to you?
• Does your line depend on if it’s happening to you/someone you know vs. a stranger? If so, why?
• If you found out your child was using racial slurs towards someone else, how would you discuss it with them?
We're on a mission to collect as many short stories as we can focused on finding solutions for racism. Listen to all our stories at www.blmstories.com