Sophomore Danielle Roach says storeowners are wary of black consumers. Senior Quianna Lawrence recalls how, on a trip to Chicago for a family reunion, she and her relatives were followed in a gift shop. Others say they are perceived as criminals even when they don't dress like Puffy. An avid lacrosse player, AP Calculus student and product of Landon private school in Bethesda, junior Azad Salimi says he does not conform to the stereotype of how a teenage black male should be. Salimi says people are often confounded that his image contrasts with images of black people in rap music.
Some students see suspicion of people of color transcending into the school setting.
White students are quick to point to disparate treatment in the handling of I.D., planbook and skipping issues. White junior Julie Grogan-Brown says she often runs errands without a planbook for the English office, where she is a student aide. Grogan-Brown says she has never been stopped by security and remembers one incident in particular when she was not stopped. There were three African American girls walking down the hallway and they were stopped and asked where their I.D.s and planbooks were. NSL teacher David West says white student aides have rejected his offers to sign planbooks for passes.