---
url: 'https://edequalsaweso.me/2014/12/w-kamau-bell-vanity-fair/'
title: 'W. Kamau Bell On Being a Black Male, Six Feet Four Inches Tall, in America in 2014'
author:
  name: 'eD! Thomas'
  url: 'https://edequalsaweso.me/author/edequalsawesome/'
date: '2014-12-02T13:48:29-05:00'
modified: '2014-12-02T13:48:29-05:00'
type: post
categories:
  - Linkin' Log
  - News
  - Society
published: true
---

# W. Kamau Bell On Being a Black Male, Six Feet Four Inches Tall, in America in 2014

[From Vanity Fair:](http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2014/11/w-kamau-bell-black-in-america)

> I am afraid of the cops. Absolutely petrified of the cops. Now understand, I’ve never been arrested or held for questioning. I’ve never been told that I “fit the description.” But that doesn’t change a thing. I am afraid of cops the way that spiders are afraid of boots. You’re walking along, minding your own business, and SQUISH! You are dead.Simply put, I am afraid of the cops because I am black. To raise the stakes even further, I am male. And to go all in on this pot of fear, I am six foot four, and weigh 250 pounds. Michael Brown, the unarmed Missouri 18-year-old shot dead by police this summer, was also six foot four. Depending on your perspective, I could be described as a “gentle giant,” the way that teachers described  Brown. Or I could be described as a “demon,” the way that Officer Darren Wilson described Michael Brown in his grand-jury testimony.

It’s informative *and* infuriating. That this is a thing that *anyone* should have to deal with pisses me off to no end.