Assumed a Threat Out of the Gate: Exercising While Black in America

You might not think twice about going for a run in your neighborhood. But as someone who is wrongly perceived as a threat, I have to consider the worst case scenarioImagine it’s 10:00 a.m. on a Saturday. The weather’s absolutely perfect for an outdoor walk or jog, and you’re excited to breathe in the fresh air as you burn some calorieThen you look down and notice the color of your skin. Seconds later, you remember that you’re the only person with your skin color in your entire neighborhood.

Soon your mind is filled with memories of when you’ve received quizzical stares from your neighbors, or they’ve crossed the street when you’ve approached them — even in the pre-pandemic worlAfter giving it some thought, you concede and decide to hop on the elliptical machine in your hot, stuffy garage insteaSadness overcomes youan you picture something like this happening to you while you’re trying to work out? This is my personal exercise story in a nutshell.

chabybucko/Getty ImagDangerous until proven harmleI’m a Black man in America, and we’re all aware of the countless stories involving unarmed people with skin color getting hurt or killed for simply existing in this countrI live in a nice neighborhood, and I’m literally the only Black man who lives on my street. When nobody else within a square mile looks like me, all it takes for something to go wrong is one overzealous neighbor to get spooked by seeing someone who looks like me running down the sidewalk.

But a funny thing happens whenever I walk in my neighborhood with my adorable puppy or two young daughters. Instead of being viewed as a thug, threat, or outsider, people will wave to me, ask to pet my dog, and strike up a conversatioIn an instant, I become a loving dad and pet owner. In other words, I become “safe” — even though I’m the exact same person when I’m alonThe only way I can describe it is soul-crushing.dding injury to insAdding another layer to this, I suffer from depressive disorder — something that has been amplified by not feeling comfortable in my own skin in America.

Quite frankly, there aren’t a lot of men who’d admit to this publicly due to the immense stigma around it, and that’s a big problem in itselfPersonally, exercise does wonders for my mental health, but I want to be able to exercise on my own terms in my own neighborhood, as many of my white neighboare able to do without even giving it a second thoughtRecognizing prejudiWhenever I share my feelings with white people, I’m often met with these question“Why don’t you make an effort to meet your neighbors so they know you’re not a threat?”

“If it’s that bad, why don’t you move somewhere else more diverse?“Do you think you’re exaggerating this a little? I doubt it’s as bad as you’re making it out to be.Put differently, they believe it’s my fault that I don’t feel comfortable exercising alone in my own neighborhood, and the onus is on me to fix it. Trust me, it doesn’t make me feel good to have my experiences ignored or minimized’ve been taught that if you want better answers, you should ask better questions — and the one question I’ve been rarely asked by white people is, “What can I do to help?”