This is a portrait from the East Bay Alternative Book and Zine Fest, at Berkeley City College, in Berkeley, California. I saw this man and his friend walk past, and I had the same thoughts I have every time I see an African American man or boy with the hood on his sweatshirt pulled up on his head; I wondered how anyone could think this man was dangerous, and I hoped he got home safely, that night and every night. After all, an awful lot of people are afraid of Black men, and scared people with guns have ended an awful lot of Black lives.

Ajuan Mance