Ridesharing While Black: Confronting Racism as a Black Uber Rider
I recently returned home from traveling overseas. A moment I cherished because my skin was able to breathe.
I’ve never felt this feeling back home — the ability for my melanin to be free from the confines — the resistance — the bondage — the surveillance — the control — and the fear provided by our American society.
Yet, not even over a week back home, I am reminded of the violence, the invisibility and hypervisibility, and the constraints on my melanin.
I was returned back to my Black body.
As I waited for my Uber driver, I see from the app that he is only one minute away. In anticipation of his arrival, I walk towards the curb, like you used to when hailing a cab. As the silver Hyundai drives near, I move forward, expecting the driver to pull over. But he doesn’t. He keeps driving, turns the corner, and cancels my ride.
As I share this story, there will be those who will try to invalidate my experience — but their invalidation is not recognized in what is my lived embodied experience.
A recent study found that your Uber driver is twice as likely to cancel if you’re Black.
Astonished, upset, angry, and sad about the experience that just occurred to me — I am reminded that many…
