In 1995, I arrived in Jacksonville, North Carolina — a young, proud Black naval officer reporting for duty at Camp Lejeune. Like anyone new to a duty station, I was trying to find my way — where to live, where to eat, and how to adjust.
But within weeks, I received a warning I’ll never forget. A senior non-commissioned officer pulled me aside and said:
“If you’re driving, make sure you drive the speed limit through that county.”
At first, I thought he was talking about speed traps — until he told me that less than ten years earlier, that same county had a billboard that read:
“Home of the Ku Klux Klan.”
That warning changed how I saw everything. It wasn’t about fear — it was about awareness. Even though the signs came down, the attitudes hadn’t always disappeared.
In this episode, I share how that experience shaped my understanding of race, safety, and survival in America — and why it still matters today.
This story also marks the first reference to my upcoming book, Traveling While Black Gen X, a reflection on what it meant for my generation — post–Jim Crow, pre-smartphone — to navigate freedom and fear on the same road.
🎧 Listen now to hear how one warning became a lifelong reminder that awareness is not fear — it’s protection.
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