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One thing I have learned from working with North Korean refugees is that many avoid public speaking because audiences may not understand the context of North Korea. A recent incident has had me trying to explain to North Korean refugees an unfortunate reality in America.
Late last year North Korean refugee Han Song-mi and I went on a mini book tour to the USA. Shortly before returning to South Korea, we were browsing at the Harvard Book Store located across the street from Harvard University.
The next day, Song-mi told me that she was confused by something about our bookstore visit. I summarized the main points of numerous books so she could make better purchases. While I was asking at the front desk about books for her, two strangers approached her. Pointing at me, the strangers asked my co-author if she knew me.
They got more alarmed when she was confused by their question: "You don't know him?" She finally got it: "Yes! He's my boss!"
North Korean refugees who praise me are amazed that I get treated like this in the USA. Apparently, I was "Mentoring While Black."
The incident at Harvard Book Store was not my first in America. In August 1985 my family was parked across the street from a bookstore in a town outside of Boston. As we waited for my father to return, a police officer approached our car. After some delightful chitchatting for a few minutes, he suddenly apologized.
"I'm sorry, you seem to be really good people," he said to my mom. "Some people called to report a black family was parked in front of the bank. I got sent here to investigate." We had not even noticed the bank so we were "Parking While Black."
Last summer, a black pastor in Alabama was "Watering While Black." A neighbor who saw him watering the flowers called the police. Can you imagine doing a good deed like this, then seeing the police coming at you?
A nine-year-old black girl had a neighbor call the police to report: "There's a little Black woman walking, spraying stuff on the sidewalks and trees. I don't know what the hell she's doing. Scares me, though."
What was the nine-year-old doing to scare her? She was using a homemade repellant spray of water, dish soap and apple cider vinegar to kill lanternflies. She was "Engaging in Entomology While Black."
There are many public service announcements advising people: "If you see something, say something." Some people, unfortunately, see too much. There have been other times I was minding my own business, then found myself a suspect. When I moved into new neighborhoods, I made it a habit of informing the police so I would not get shot while jogging or walking too quickly.
To be clear, I have been profiled in Korea, as I have written about before. After meeting me, the friend of a former girlfriend informed her, "He's not Black. He's cute!" A university professor who admires me tried to convince her university to hire me. She needed me to be ready to answer the question: "How black are you?" And yes, I have been stopped by a police officer in South Korea. He told me he wanted to practice speaking English and to tell me about his experience living in Seattle.
I wish I could have had a chance to talk to the strangers at the Harvard Book Store to find out what they suspected I was doing with my co-author. From the Harvard Book Store, I could throw a book and hit the nearby gate in front of Harvard University, although of course, I would arrange a press conference announcing it before I did so. I would have told them that I had spent six years as a student at Harvard University across the street and had spoken at more than 15 Harvard University events.
About a 10 second walk away from the Harvard Book Store is the Harvard Crimson newspaper, where I was a sports reporter and executive editor. Perhaps I need to carry my Harvard diplomas with me around the Harvard University area. During the rest of the trip, I announced as we entered establishments that Song-mi is my co-author.
In two weeks, I will be traveling from Seoul to the USA. My first stop will be to give another speech at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. A few days later, I will be joined in Washington, D.C., and New York City by three North Korean refugees and the co-founder of Freedom Speakers International (FSI) for speeches and meetings.
I will inform those ladies, including the three North Korean refugees who grew up brainwashed about how dangerous America is, that they will need to protect me when we are in the USA and announce to others that they know me.
Casey Lartigue Jr. (CJL@alumni.harvard.edu) is co-founder with Lee Eun-koo of Freedom Speakers International (FSI) and co-author with Han Song-mi of the book "Greenlight to Freedom."
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