Editor, Commonwealth:
“One can never be too careful.”
“Always be aware of your surroundings.”
“Trust your instincts.”
I serve as the associate pastor for youth at First Presbyterian Church. Last Sunday afternoon, our youth group participated in the canned food drive put on by Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church. We were instructed to collect cans in two different areas of town, one of which was along River Road and West Washington Street.
I took three white teenage girls, dressed appropriately for a hot day in shorts and T-shirts, with me to collect cans in this area. The neighborhood is a fine neighborhood, but it’s still not one in which they were used to walking. It was reasonable to be cautious. Being the one most responsible for their safety, I drove very slowly in my older model Yukon as the teenage girls walked along the opposite sidewalk.
Behind me, I noticed an older model Tahoe coming up quickly. I focused on it as the driver parked the wrong way on the opposite side of the street, just 10 yards from my teenage crew. I was thinking through my possible actions as the driver, a young black man, popped out of the car and took a few steps toward the girls, saying something to them. For whatever reason, I didn’t sense danger and continued to watch carefully. Suddenly, this black man took a few steps toward me and started swearing at me, saying loudly, “You don’t have any business lurking around these girls. Get out of here!”
It took me a moment to figure out what was going on. From the perspective of the black man, he saw a middle-aged guy creeping along in his car, watching closely three teenage girls. He suspected that I might be a threat to those girls. Instinctively, he jumped out of his car, asked one of the girls if she knew me, and since she mistakenly thought he was asking about someone in another car, she said, “No.” It was at that point that he moved toward me and told me get away from them, not worrying what I might think or if I might be a threat to him. The teenager whom he asked about me, quickly cleared up the misunderstanding and he backed off.
A few minutes later he came up to me and apologized profusely. However, I told him that I was glad he stepped in and sought to protect those teenage girls from a perceived threat. The truth is, I’ve never been so happy to be sworn at and told to go away.
To the black man who was being a good citizen and a protector of three white teenage girls: Thank you very much!
The Rev. Steve Fortenberry
Greenwood
