An Explanation for my Response to a Nosey Neighbor

Hey everyone, welcome back to another blog entry!  Today’s blog is about the video I did back in March 2023 on Sundown Towns in Indiana.

Several months prior to the video (September 2022), I made a video about a delivery I did in a rural area of northern Indiana. A nosey neighbor came out during my route. I was making a Spark delivery for the house across the street. I pulled up the house, but instead of pulling into the driveway, I pulled up to the side of the street near their driveway. The neighbor was already outside doing yard work or whatever. He came up to his side of the street as I was still in my car getting the stickers scanned. He started asking me all sorts of questions. When he was finally satisfied that I was not out to do harm (I suppose, because he claimed all sorts of unmarked cars were coming into the area, but he was a fairly large muscular looking man so why he was worried, I do not know), he started asking me about the Spark gig. I completed the delivery and went on about my day.

In the comments from that video, someone commented: "I would have told them to KMA (kiss my @$$) and mind your business." That comment and that scenario stuck with me for a long time. And because of that interaction, I do my best to try to hop out of my car, as soon as possible, so that all spectators can see my vest and that I am there on business. I even, oftentimes, keep my vest on on the way home so that in those rural areas, others can see that I am not a “them” that needs to be watched.

In all actuality, the comment itself was pretty innocuous, but it made me reflect on who I am, where I live, and the history of this area. In my opinion, responding in the way that the commenter recommended would add fuel to the fire, which is not something I want to deal with during deliveries. As you saw in the thumbnail, my response is rooted in the biblical verse Matthew 10:16, "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." This means being wise and harmless simultaneously as you deal with these wolves. I just want to do my work and go home, each and every day.

Living in Indiana, a state with a dark history, especially for a Black woman like me, means I have to be extra cautious. I did not know the following facts about Indiana until I started looking into it for the video. An internet search turned up that Indiana ranks second in the nation for Sundown Towns, only behind Illinois. BlackIndyLive.com wrote the following article, “Report: Indiana Leads Nation in Sundown Towns, More than all of South Combined” dated June 22, 2022. This is where I got this startling information. I was like no way. I went down south a couple of years ago, and I felt quite paranoid at times down there. Then there was my husband’s paranoia that just compounded the effect. We were traumatized just being in the south. But, to hear that our very own birth state has more sundown towns than all of the south was a bit of an eye-opener. For those who are unfamiliar, these Sundown Towns were places where non-whites were excluded, often through violence or intimidation. It was often told that the non-whites needed to be out of the city before sundown or risk their lives. The History and Social Justice Website (https://justice.tougaloo.edu/) create a nice interactive map of the locations of sundown towns or other towns that have had a significant racial incident.

[Screenshot of the interactive map]

Let me tell you how I first learned about Sundown Towns. It was not in school, but from my grandmother. I lived in Northern Indiana. I attended Indiana University-Bloomington (IUB), which was south of us, in the middle of the state. She warned me not to stop in Martinsville, a town that was on the route to Bloomington. This was because that was where the KKK was known to be active there. During my college years, I had to drive through areas with this dark history, making sure never to stop unless absolutely necessary and at a very populated, modern-looking gas station.

I have two personal stories related to Sundown Towns. The first was when I was at IUB. A group of us got pulled over at night. The driver, for whatever reason, thought it was a good idea to turn off his headlights to see how dark it was outside. He told the officer that he was doing an experiment. An experiment! Are you serious! It was terrifying, but he got off with a warning. The second time was during a senior year education class where I had to do externships in Martinsville. I was so nervous. They sent two non-white students to Martinsville. Everyone else had closer areas. Because I did not have a car, I had to rely on this other student for transportation, so I made sure to know where she was at all times. Despite the unnerving experience, nothing negative happened, but I was always on edge. A side observation from the Martinsville externship…During one of my observations, the children had to line up and take this orange substance that had been placed in little paper cups (the size of the ketchup cups at restaurants). The cups were brought in on a metal tray. When asked, the teacher told me that those were fluoride treatments. Much of the water supply in that area was by well, so they did not get commercially treated water. This was the “solution” to not getting “treated” water.

Given all this history and my personal experiences, you can understand why I responded as I did in the original video, which was to stay calm, converse with the man, and deescalate the situation. Proverbs 15:1 says, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." The man who confronted me was already looking for trouble, so it was best to de-escalate the situation.

When you’re out there, be smart and wise. Not all battles are worth fighting because not all are winnable. Stay safe, be wise, and be harmless.