Got stopped by the police tonight as Delores and I were dropping off some of my Bible Club girls in South Philly. They thought we were pushers! Delores had driven past the girls house, so I walked them down the dark, stinking street to their door, and talked to their mother, who was in her housecoat and was sniffling as if she had a cold (that’s one of the characteristics of a junkie). I walked back, past a group of black dudes sitting on the steps and one called out, "I oughta punch you in the head!"

I just kept walking, attributing his hostility to the fact that I was white but there was more to it than that, as I was to discover. No sooner had I gotten into the car and Delores pulled out to drive away, than two police cars appeared out of nowhere. One pulled in front of us and the other pulled behind us. Dee pulled over to the curb.

An officer came over and asked, "May I see your license and owner’s card please?"

When he saw "Christian Youth Services" on the card, he said, "Oh, that explains it."

Delores laughed. "You wondered what we were doing in this neighborhood, right?"

"Well, there’s a lot of junk around here, and we have to check," he explained.

What else would a white person be doing in a black neighborhood at 10:00 at night?