On Tuesday, The Kewanee Voice received an email about an incident that occurred that day on the north side of Kewanee. I’ll admit, the incident described in the email shook me and saddened me. But it also sparked a curiosity in me to discover the truth.
Of course, I spoke with Mike Berry, the Voice publisher, about the contents of the email. If what happened could be verified, was it a news story? We both agreed it probably wasn’t—because sadly, things like this happen daily in this country. It’s just heartbreaking that it happened in our town. While it may not be a news story, it was certainly worth an editorial.
The email arrived in the early afternoon on Aug. 12. It was from a man who identified himself as an insurance investigator. That day, he had traveled to our fair city to perform a job: take photos of an intersection where a traffic accident had occurred between a motorcycle and a car. He arrived on the scene on the north side around 11:30 to 11:45 a.m. and began snapping photographs using a professional 35mm camera.
I’ll let him take over and explain the incident, since it’s his story to tell:
“I was taking photos of this intersection in reference to an accident that happened there on 8/5 between a motorcycle and a vehicle. My responsibility includes photographing the incident area from all directions and sometimes even canvassing for video footage that might have caught the accident,” he said in one of the emails we exchanged that day.
As he was taking photos of the intersection and surrounding area, a man—accompanied by a woman—came from a nearby building and approached him, informing him that they didn’t want him taking photos of the property.
“I told him that I was photographing an accident scene and asked him if he was aware of this accident. He started cursing and told me he didn’t care about a F—- accident and I responded that he didn’t have to be upset, I was just doing my job. I turned and walked away and that’s when he called me a ‘N-word’ and told me to get my ‘N-word’ ass away from his business.”
According to the email exchange, the 75-year-old Black man’s service area for his job extends beyond Peoria, Ill., encompassing regions from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Indianapolis, Ind., and from Wisconsin to Arkansas.
The insurance inspector said he “frequently visits numerous small towns and cities. Individuals often inquire about my work, and I identify myself as an Insurance Inspector. My vehicle displays magnetic signs, and I wear a yellow safety vest, along with a large 35mm camera. Most people readily recognize that I am performing professional duties. Similar to this incident, I typically explain my activities and resume work,” his email stated.
“However, the recent verbal attack was unwarranted and unacceptable. Regardless of any individual’s opinion of my work, it does not justify immediate disparagement,” one of his emails stated.
While the insurance inspector admits he didn’t handle the situation with as much grace as he wished, and did respond in a negative manner, he did so because this was a “first for him.”
“People have normally, once understanding that I’m simply working,” he wrote, “they accept my being in the area and move on. I took photos of him approaching my car and he just continued to berate me, making sure he referred to me as a ‘N-word.’”
The man said the incident left him deeply saddened—that a person can’t go about their business, just trying to make a living, without being abused.
It does us too. That’s why we felt it necessary to shine a spotlight on this particular incident.
According to the man—originally from Memphis, Tenn., and a former Black Panther who marched for Civil Rights—he has experienced and seen a lot. But: “Today,” he wrote, “I just want to live my life, perform my work and get home safely to my family.”
He would prefer not to have to live in fear—fear of actions that could prevent him from getting back home. And he added, he would have never in his life thought that someone would feel they had the right to attack a person who wasn’t even interacting with them.
If all of that occurred, it certainly doesn’t make Kewanee look very good. And the incident certainly doesn’t paint the picture of the “Friendliest Little Town” awarded to us by Rand McNally in 2013. There are several signs in Kewanee recognizing that honor.
So did the incident occur?
From what I’ve been able to find out, it did. According to the Kewanee man I spoke with, he did call the inspector a racist slur and said the word out loud in front of me. When he did so, I had a visceral reaction—not something a reporter should have—but I cringed. The sound of the word hanging in the air was foreign to me. I’ve heard the word in movies and music, but to have it said by someone seated a few feet from me was shocking.
The man did offer a defense, claiming the inspector used the “N-word” first, which he seemed to imply gave him permission to use it, too. He was also upset that someone was taking photos of his property, which he felt was illegal. It’s not. As a reporter, I know that taking photos of what you can see from a public space is perfectly legal. Reporters do it all the time. And so do insurance inspectors.
Even for those who believe the property owner had a right to inquire about what a stranger was doing—does that right extend to violating human decency and attacking someone who has explained they’re simply doing their job with a racist slur?
This incident should not only sadden all of us—it should inspire us to do better. It seems that over the last few years, a sort of moral decay has descended upon our civilization. Is it social media? Is it because it’s so easy to treat people who aren’t standing in front of us unkindly? Has social media calloused us, made it easier to sling unkind words across the void—and has that ease spilled over into real life?
Or is it something more? Has unkindness become more acceptable? Has blatant racism become acceptable again? I hope that’s not the case.
It’s more likely that racism has always been there, simmering under the surface, waiting for a time when it was deemed acceptable to show itself—at least by some.
But I’d like to think that’s not the case. Certainly not in Kewanee. And that given a choice, those who find racism and unkindness unacceptable would rise up and declare it so. Maybe I am just a cockeyed optimist.
I realize this is just one incident and most people who visit Kewanee aren’t treated like this, but unless we stand up and declare this behavior out of bounds, it could spread. People could be emboldened to think that slinging racist slurs at visitors is accpetable.
And if you need help deciding which city we should be—the one that treats strangers unkindly or the one that welcomes them—think again on the words of the insurance inspector, who spent his youth fighting for the rights of his fellow citizens and was forced to face such a racist exchange in Kewanee of all places:
“I would hope that someone in Kewanee would let it be known that all people, no matter their skin color, have a right to carry on business and live life without the fear of being harassed or harmed,” he wrote.
I’ve tried to do my part here. I hope Kewanee residents will join me. And if that’s not the case, Kewanee has a few signs to remove.
