This Time by Wista Jeanne Johnson was editing copy when an editor white came into my office and asked if I had heard the verdict in The Trial. His somber demeanor said it all the four cops had been acquitted. I remember thinking how fucked-up that was. I was confused, dazed, numb. A few minutes later stomach pains kicked in.
Racist shit is hurtful, insulting, and intolerable.
I was uncomfortable with white colleagues. I couldn't talk about the verdict. The first person I sought out was a black female coworker. I found her sitting behind her desk, looking stunned. I sobbed softly, arms hugging my body.