An Open Letter to the Guy Who Called Me a Nigger (Four Times)

Gwen Mintz
Sep 5, 2018 · 2 min read

I had just crossed the street and you called out. I turned first to the dark parking lot where your voice had come from, then glanced around. There was no one but me. I was black and you’d yelled “Nigger!” so I assumed you were addressing me.

We were on a university campus and my first thought was “Really?” You go to college to open your mind to a larger world; if you were a student, you had a lot to learn.

The second time you called me that word, I wondered if you had a gun. I did, for a moment…

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Writer, teddy bear maker, asst. professor of English~Chapbooks: “Mother Love” and “Where I’ll Be If I’m Not There”

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