A funny thing happened on the way to the club

Last night in the couple of blocks between where we parked and the venue we walked through a group of black men who had the look of men up for a bit of mischief. Das was wearing all black and I was wearing red leggings, black ankle boots, black miniskirt, and a coat covering my black tank top.  As usual I was about half a step behind him because he walks faster than me even though he never looks like he's going very fast.  As we move closer to the group they part giving us room on the sidewalk and one brave soul pipes up "Hey brother that's one fine black woman you got there" Das smiled said "I know" and kept walking. He tried to further engage Das but when Das  replied "I'm in a hurry man"   the dude backed down, literally with his hands up, lol.

Over the years I have encountered many groups of black men similar in flavor the the one we ran into last night while with a white male companion either romantic or platonic but never have I had that type of encounter with anyone else. I'm not saying the interactions are always bad they just aren't so blatantly respectful and certainly no other man I'm been in the company of has gotten honorary brother status without ever saying a word.  The effect he has on people never ceases to amaze me. I am used to men having something to say to me even if it's said politely, I'm not used to an unquestioned immediate acknowledgement that I'm with my man. The lack of anyone intimating that I can do better or should be with a black man or at least shouldn't be with a white one was very nice. Not having my motives questioned for my choice of partner also very nice, especially when it happens with strangers on the street. The bonus of having all this without any type of confrontation is hard to describe if it hasn't been a staple of your reality.  Being in public with Das has given me back the freedom to approach groups of black men smiling without any underlying trepidation of what may go down while I'm with a white man.