When They Saw Me

Abstract

The current project is an autoethnographic narrative account of memorable moments that affected (and, one might argue, effected) elements of the author’s identity as an African American man. The project includes several autobiographical anecdotes that span over four decades and include interactions with educators, relatives, and strangers. The author reconsiders the ways in which others’ perceptions of him, often linked to race, have affected his lived experiences in school, at work, on a summer afternoon walk, and online. Taken together, the anecdotes illustrate ways in which the social construction of race affects the author’s perception of self and others.