It was never overt. No one called him slurs, no one told him what he should or shouldn’t do. But he could feel it. He felt it in the long held looks of suspicion that adhered to him while he was shopping. It was in the way fathers would pull their children closer while walking past him on the sidewalk. He felt it when people would gaze in fear at his height of 6’ 2”.

Andre was able to live a fairly decent life though. He never thought of the looks people give or the things they would say as racist, afterall racism was dead in America right? Long gone were the days of slavery, Jim Crow, segregation. Little did Andre know, the beast never left, it was just well hidden. 

7:00 am

Andre hurled his legs over the steps leading into the high school. He quietly cursed the alarm clock that had done him so wrong that morning as he approached the doors. The police stood like marble columns with piercing eyes, watching each minute contraction of Andre’s muscles while they guarded the entrance. 

“Couldn’t help but be late could ya?” one officer sneered.

“I’m sorry sir I just overslept a little.”

“Yeah yeah, I deal with one of y’all everyday” the officer’s tone suggested there was something more behind his comment.

Andre kept moving, he didn’t have time to be upset, he needed to get to the third floor for his chem exam!

The day went along like most others, Andre slogged through calculus and  finished the homework he was just assigned in study hall. He laughed and talked with his friends at lunch. They never talked about anything important, but that didn’t really matter. They loved it. It was 4:00 and the chess club was just finishing. Andre decided to walk home with his friend Emile so they could study for the calc quiz the next day. 

The autumn sun turned in for the day at 6:00

“I better get home for dinner, see ya tomorrow Emile!” Andre waved as he embarked out to go home. I was just a five block endeavor, he always walked home. Andre took out his phone to text his Mom he was heading back. The ice cold air forced him to wrap his hood over his head.

“Hey, stop right there!” a police officer pulled up behind Andre.

“Put your hands where I can see them!”

“DON’T MOVE” 

Andre panicked, ran. 

Bang.

He fell cold on the floor.

It was explained as a mistake. There were protests, but in a matter of time the public let him slip from their minds. Andre.