During the 2003 war on Iraq I went to an interfaith peace rally at the Federal Building in San Francisco.  After I joined a group of people singing peace songs, the leader of the group asked me to pass out some song sheets.  We were singing in a busy area, and I didn’t really know who was there to attend the rally so I just went along asking people if they wanted a song sheet.

I came to an older African American man wearing a fedora hat and a suit jacket who I thought looked out of place. I asked him, with a slight edge in my voice, if he intended to stay for the rally since the song sheets were only for those staying.  He took a sheet saying he planned to stay.

I felt awkward about the interaction realizing that I had treated him differently from other people.  He was the only African-American in the crowd, and I assumed he didn’t belong there.  Later I introduced myself to him and apologized for treating him rudely.  He smiled and told me he forgave me.

Question for the reader: Have you ever assumed that an African American
wasn't part of an event or a group, only to discover he or she was?