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If the Description Fits

Deshawn Lewis


We were just going home from practice when they spun the block. I always wanted the brightest lights on me, but on the basketball court, not on the ave past 9 o’clock. They told us don’t worry, it would just take a minute, but that all changed when I fit what they were looking for. Lightskin, Nappy hair afro is what I had. In 2016, that’s pretty much what all the boys had.


They had me against the wall like a poster, left arm on my back while his right hand was on the holster. My temper and pride almost kicked in. I could’ve won the battle, but ultimately lost the war. Beating one guy is easy but how about four more? Plus they were cops, they were trained for that stuff. I wasn’t about to be on socials getting snuffed.


In the car, they tried to make me confess to a crime I didn’t commit. I sat tall in that seat, my tone got out of line I could admit. When he pulled out the gun I was terrified. The only time I saw a gun was on Call of Duty online. That made me relax and lower my tone because I never had a shiver like that in my bones.


When we got to the station, they tried to crack jokes. Just because my passcode is long doesn’t mean I sell coke. Apparently being a black kid with some type of money means you sell drugs. I always hated that stigma so I strived for more. It’s hard to break out of that shell when rappers make it so that’s all we know.


I’m thankful my parents had the money for a lawyer because I didn’t wanna be forced into a deal when I didn’t deserve a conviction. Unfortunately, a lot of kids like me are put in that position. Later we found out the crime never even took place and a mixture of emotions kicked in. I was happy I was free but there were a lot of things I had to face. I was in a car cuffed wrist tight with a gun in my face. And that was for no reason, I was only 12 years old thinking about my freshman basketball season. And on a bigger scale, I almost didn’t make it home...


This experience gave me a new perspective and worldview. Now I see why the hood hates those people in blue. Not saying that I hate 12 cuz I know there’s some good apples in the bunch, I just wish those guys were there when this guy decided to follow a tiny hunch.






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© 2021 INTERSECTIONS FIRST YEAR WRITING JOURNAL 

All images used are either free digital images from Wix, Canva, and Unsplash, or were created specifically by student authors to accompany their own text
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