This Washington Post story about the Day of Absence really hit home for me, and here is my story about the Day of Absence prior to this.
After the last one I returned to find my laptop gone and in it's place a note was left, that read: "You still owe me a mule, cracker!".
I called the Bias Response Team and they cited me for filing a false report before I even opened my mouth. All of my schoolwork was on that laptop and I was devastated.
My professor was a Woman of Color and didn't give me any extension on the deadline. I failed miserably and she told me I needed to abandon my whiteness.
After much reflection that night, I was browsing the news and read about transracialism. I realized that my love for fried chicken, watermelon and malt liquor was telling me something.
I went to see my professor in her office but she was running late. Meanwhile a line of PoC students was forming behind me.
My professor arrived 30 minutes late, explaining she was pulled over for being black again. She told me to check my privilege and go to the back of the line.
An hour later when it was my turn to see her, I stepped into her office and told her I believed I was transblack. She didn't take me seriously at first, but she must have seen the seriousness in my eyes and she said to me "You can take your exam again on Thursday. That is when some of the PoC students will be taking it." They had gotten extensions because of the death of Michael Brown and I was able to try again with my new lens on life.
I walked in and sat down to that new chance and that's when I noticed a Person of Color with a laptop very similar to mine sticking out of their backpack.
I was going to say to my brother man that I had the same one and ask him how he likes it, when I noticed he also had all the same stickers in all the same places on his laptop!
This was the first time I realized that coincidences are more likely than so-called "black on black crime" and I was woke. I complimented his laptop's similarity to mine and went to sit down again.
"What do you mean my laptop looks just like the one you had stolen?" And he stood up. "Are you saying I stole your laptop, cracker?!?" and "This is the typical anti-black racism we face every day on this campus!"
My professor heard the commotion and informed the other student that I was transracial and identified as black.
He apologized, we shook hands and embraced one another. We're now best friends and he sometimes lets me use that awesome laptop of his. He had the same desktop wallpaper and files and everything that I did. We're like the same person, it was so awesome.
Campus police never found the white false-flagger trying to blame black people.
And I aced that test.
