King of Prussia

After College, no one could have been more excited than I was after hearing the news that I had been

selected to join a select group of new hires to work for one of the largest investment companies in the world (back in 2005). At that point in time if you told me it was located in Oaks, Pennsylvania - I wouldn't have batted an eye lid. If you had told me it was hundreds in some cases thousands of miles away from my friends and family, that wouldn't have even phased me. If you told me that I was going to get a serious case of culture shock - you would have been wasting your breath......as far as I saw, this was my BIG break and nothing was going to deter me from enjoying my new job and my new surroundings. I packed up all my things, and I was off to start a new phase of my life in King of Prussia (KOP), Pennsylvania - which was a 15 minute drive from my office and 30-40 minutes north west of Philadelphia.

The first day I walked in I was literally walking on sunshine, it was a warm summer morning, the birds were chirping, the trees were big and beautiful, the plants were in full bloom - I was in heaven. I met my fellow Associates, got my orientation - and was feeling more and more like this was the right decision with each passing hour.

Let's skip ahead to my fourth day which is really the purpose for me writing this piece. You see, that is the day that changed my perception about my "great situation" and made me look at Pennsylvania in a totally different light. I was on my way home from work one day driving "Abby" (my 11 year old Mitsubishi Mirage that I purchased for $800 back in College) back home and on approaching the security gate, I noticed that there was a different guard that day. On reaching the gate I said "Good evening," she asked me "where is your sticker?" (Everyone in the apartment complex was supposed to have a sticker placed in a visible spot so his/her vehicle could easily be identified by the guard). I said "I just moved in a few days ago and I should be getting my sticker soon" - I then gave her my name and apartment number. She glanced at a list and said "People like you don't live here, why don't you just get out of here before I call the cops!?!"  

I tried extremely hard to contain myself but truth be told I f*c*in* lost it! I told her she better let me in because I wasn't moving until she opened the gate. By now, you can imagine - a line is now developing behind me and it is now obvious to the onlookers that - something was definitely not right. The security guard and I went back and forth for about 5 minutes (which felt like an eternity) and she called the cops. Now for those of you who don't know - NOTHING exciting ever happens in KOP so when she made that call to the police - approximately 7 or 8 police sports utility vehicles turned up, K-9 units and ambulances rushed to the "scene of the crime." Night was about to fall but the lights form all the service vehicles wouldn't allow for that. KOP looked like a red and blue Christmas tree - awaiting the star on top!

Not only was there a long line of vehicles belonging to residents behind me, they were now joined by what appeared to be the entire KOP police force, an ambulance and K-9 units at the scene. The commotion had gotten so large at that time, residents were now gathering outside to see what would come of this situation.

Based on what I saw in my rear view mirror I felt like I had tortured an entire kindergarten class and was eating the remains of the toddlers' carcases and spitting out the bones for all to see. Three cops approached the security guard and asked her what the problem was, she told them "This man doesn't live here and has been trying to force his way into the complex, he also threatened to come in by force if I didn't open the gate!" One of the officers turned around to me and said "GET OUT OF THE CAR BOY!" I complied. He said "What are you doing around these parts boy?" I didn't answer (I figured at this point, there was nothing I would have been able to say to convince these folks I was telling the truth). I almost felt at that time, like they were just looking for any excuse to embarrass me in front of the now almost 40-50 onlookers. And you know what? I was right.

On getting out of the car, the cop spun me around, slammed my head onto the roof of my car (that was dented as a result) and handcuffed me and said "You will sing like a bird when you are behind bars boy!" This cop was acting like a hero and all the onlookers seemed to be pleased with the way things were "going down," especially the female security guard. I learned however that before they take you to the station they empty your pockets to disarm you and try to find out your identity. The good news for me is that I had changed over my driver's license to my new address - which happened to be in the same spot my head had been slammed down on my car, my hands cuffed and embarrassed in front of my "neighbors." I still said nothing. All I did  was take note of the faces and badge numbers for all the officers involved.

There were three officers searching me, one of the cops found my wallet and looked inside. There was a pause, he stepped back and called the other 2 officers over. At this point, I was facing my vehicle - with my hands behind my back in cuffs - looking at the faces of all the onlookers staring at me with eyes of disgust. Words can't explain how low I felt, how embarrassed I was. About 1 minute later my cuffs were released and the cop who bashed my head on my car began to apologize about the "obvious misunderstanding." I took my wallet, driver's license, got in my car - and drove through the now open gate to get into my complex. To this day, not one of those cops have ever heard my voice - nor have I ever told the details of this experience.

That night in my one bedroom sky rise apartment overlooking the King of Prussia mall - was the loneliest I have ever felt in my entire life. I wondered if I had made the right decision, I started to question everything and everyone, but most importantly - I didn't see my situation the same way after that incident. Before I digress though - let me tell you about the outcome of the "obvious misunderstanding." I have never been someone to stand by and let people stomp all over me  - and I never let things like that simply slide. I wrote a letter to the Marquis (which was the name of the highrise apartment complex at the time) a letter to the legal team at my company as well as human resources (as they were the ones who informed me that it was a great place to live) and lastly to the King of Prussia police department. The letters included all the details of the incident as well as the names and  badge numbers of the officers and the name of the female security guard that manned the gate.

I won't bore you with the details, just know that they were ALL FIRED and the Marquis upgraded my apartment to a luxury penthouse suite on the 11th floor for the same price I was paying for a much smaller apartment on the 4th floor. Even though all of that was accomplished - from that point forward, it was never the same. Racism is still a huge part of an ugly America and there are traces of it everywhere and every day. When will "we" ever have true equality? My guess is - not even in the lifetime of my great great grand children - why? Because hate and superiority is being taught by parents and passed on to the next generation. It's like a special barbecue sauce or a dinner recipe that always seems to stand the test of time. Until we stop preaching and teaching the hate - we will never be able to live in equality as one! Thanks you for your continued support as I build my blog - I encourage you to become a member of my blog by registering your email to get the latest and greatest updates. Please help me spread the word - and remember - I love you all as much as James Brown loved to split. Until next time - take care of yourselves and each other. 

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