The unsettling incident of the too-quiet Native teens
In the annals of unsettling racist happenings in the United States as of late, the incident of the too-quiet Native teens on a college visit in Colorado surely is one of the more peculiar.
We’ve heard of cops being called for a number of reasons, but never because teenage boys were too quiet at college, in this case, Colorado State University. The incident took place last week in Fort Collins when two Santa Cruz teenagers — using money they had saved — drove themselves to visit the university. Thomas Kanewakeron Gray, 19, and Lloyd Skanahwati Gray, 17, wanted to attend college together. Thomas is a student at Northern New Mexico College, while his brother is a senior at the Santa Fe Indian School. The brothers are from the Mohawk tribe.
They had taken a day off from school for that most American of rites, the college visit. They never completed their tour. Campus police interrupted; someone on the tour with the teens had called in a complaint. The brothers made a woman in the group “nervous” because she decided they were too quiet. They wore dark T-shirts. They joined the tour a bit late and declined to answer her nosy questions. They simply did not belong on a college tour, the woman believed. (The tour guide, by the way, said the boys’ behavior was nothing out of the ordinary.)
Officers took the brothers aside to question them. Despite showing they had reservations for the tour, the two were held up long enough that the group continued without them. They were patted down and questioned. By the time they were released, they could not catch up. The tour guide did not see what was happening but wrote a heartfelt apology to the boys’ mother, Lorraine Kahneratokwas Gray, who believes the caller felt threatened by two non-white young men in the group. The caller needs to step forward, own up to her mistake and apologize.
The college has done so, offering to reimburse the brothers and take them on a VIP tour. Now, CSU should examine the entire incident to prevent future occurrences. Visiting young people and parents might be issued ID badges, so no one can question whether they belong on the basis of wearing a T-shirt saluting a heavy metal band. Tour members could be advised to talk to the guide with concerns before involving police. Better systems for these tours could prevent future embarrassments. Other lessons to be learned? It is not OK to call the police simply because people of color make someone “nervous.” It is not OK on a college tour in Colorado. It is not OK at a Starbucks in Philadelphia, where two black men were detained by police earlier this year because they asked to use the restroom before they made a purchase (as is allowed in Starbucks shops across the country).
It is not OK to call the cops because you see black women leaving a fancy Airbnb, their suitcases in hand as is customary when checking out, and suspect them of stealing, as happened in Southern California late last month. It is not OK. Yet here we are, in 2018. About the only bright spot we can see is that maybe, if people become more open about such widespread prejudices, society can confront and overcome them.
Overcome them we must, or the United States of America and its promise of liberty and justice for all will be lost.