Perseverance — Page 171
PART III – My Return to the United States 171 Sometime during the night around 2 am, a highway patrolman approached the car with a drawn gun and a flashlight saying, “Open the door and get outside. ” We complied. The officer asked, “Who are you?” I responded, “I am a man. ” He then asked, “What is your name?” I said, “Rashid Ahmad. ” He asked, “What is that?” I said, “That is my name. ” He then asked, “Are you a Negro?” I said, “I do not know. ” He asked, “What do you mean ‘You do not know’?” I said, “I do not know the meaning of the word. You tell me the meaning of the word and I’ll tell you if I’m that. ” Another officer told the officer, “Ask him if he was born in this country. ” I handed him my American passport and said, “Here is my identification right here. ” He looked at it and noticed an immigration stamp saying re- entered from Pakistan. Then he said, “Oh, he is a Pakistani. ” He completely changed his attitude and started talking kindly to me giving me all sorts of advice like not to sleep on the highway and to make sure I’m careful while traveling. We were in a small city called Saxton, not too far from Memphis, Tennessee. Saxton was known for a lynching that took place during World War II. People wore badges which read, “Don’t forget Pearl Harbor. ” However, black people who protested the wanton racial discrimination wore badges that read, “Don’t forget Pearl Harbor, and Remember Saxton. ”