"she cast back a worried glance. To her, the youngish black man-a broad six feet two inches with a beard and billowing hair, both hands shoved into the pockets of a bulky military jacket-seemed menacingly close. After a few more quick glimpses,she..............Within seconds she disappeared into a cross street."
The past August, I was lived in my friend's home. She was living in Harlem. Before that, I never been to Harlem. I didn't know how is that place. For some reasons, I have to went out by myself everyday. When I passed through the street, I saw a lot of black men hang out on street. They seemed nothing to do. At the beginning, to me, they looks just like the writer describe. I always feel some eyes looking at me. Yes, I admit that I had prejudice against them at the beginning. I feel scare when I passed the street. I try to didn't made any eye contact to them. But I change my mind until that thing happend. There were a black men always stand on the street out of my apartment building. He is tall and seemed nothing to do. He would say hi to me every morning when I pass him. At the begining, I did like the quote said, gave him a quick glimpse and passed him more quickly. One side, I felt impolite if i kept ignore him. The other side, I worried he would did something if I answered him. But after a few days, he keep said hi to me every moring, I try to answered him and still passed him quickly. One day morning, he say hi to me as usual, but the same time he walk toward me. I have to stop walking because he was on front of me. I try my best to hide and scare and looking at him. What he did just want to shake hands with me. When he shake hands with me, i saw his smile on the face. The smile is so warm and nice. Suddenly, i don't feel scare any more. Even till now, I don't understand why he said hi to me everyday on the street. Maybe he just want to said hi to people, no matter who.(But i asked my friend, she said she never meet a guy did that for her. Strange, right?! )Maybe they just want to be friendly with other people. All my scary is comes from my prejudice. After that day, i felt free to walking on Harlam, just like walking on any other place in NewYork.
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Still it's Harlem (Leslie)
I still remember in the previous few months the crimes occurred in Harlem, about a Chinese students were beaten by black teenagers, and another student was killed.
Harlem is still a place to which people keep cautious, though it has changed a lot from the old days. If you watched the movie "American Gansters", it was the real story in Harlem.
Therefore, the guy smiling at you and greeting you every day should be a good guy, but it's still in Harlem.
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