It Is An Economic Decision

A tall African American male stood along the corner of the Omni Station where the Metro Mover and the Metro buses pick up and drop off their loads in downtown Miami. This is an area of extreme mobility with locals and tourists alike. The man stood there under the humid mid-afternoon Florida sun waving to stop every cab passing by. All kept going.

One cabbie finally struck the brakes and came to a sudden halt after almost passing him by as well. The man exhausted by the heat, hurried up, and dropped his long self right into the back seat, sitting in an awkward manner with his upper body on the passenger side and his feet behind the driver. “Man thank you for stopping,” he said. “I have been here for, it must be one hour, and every cab just zoomed right passed me.” The driver laughed. “No man, it’s not funny,” the guy protested. “These ‘mud’ would not pick up a brother. This is not funny at all. And, they are Haitians too.”

“I don’t say it is funny my friend. It is a fact that most of the drivers do not pick up black people,” the cabbie clarified.  He was well familiar with that. Among all the taxi drivers he knew, only one of them was ready to pick up a black passenger anywhere, anytime, and under any condition. He himself would pick up a black person only under fair conditions when he felt that his safety was not threatened. Most other drivers had expressed openly to him, “My taxi is not for black people.”

People would be quick to say that taxi drivers in Miami are racist. But, in reality it cannot be racism. The majority of the drivers are black. They should not have any problem picking up their own kind. Then, what is the problem? It is a financial conflict. In general, the taxi driver sets his standard for passengers based on the amount of liability he feels ready to incur. Plainly stated, taxi drivers pick up people whom they presume are going to pay and would not rob them. The above taxi driver explained to his new passenger, “It is not a matter of Black and White or American and Haitian. It is the fact that the taxi drivers are usually cheated by black passengers. They may not pay you; they may rob; they may even murder you. It is not only Black Americans either; it could be Haitian, Jamaican, and whoever. It is really a matter of the poverty among us. We are shut out of the economy; we are eating dust; and we have turned against one another.”  

The passenger admitted. “I know where you’re coming from, men. I was born and raised in Over-Town. I worked my way out by managing to get myself a job in a hotel watching the naked women lying in the sands on South Beach. I have a Russian girlfriend and an apartment right over the ocean lines too. I must tell you though. My family feels that I have given up on my people. When you picked me up, I was just returning from visiting my mother. I always cannot wait to get out of there. Too much misery, man!” 

At the end, it is an economic decision. The tourists, the white people, they have money. Most of them are ready to make use of the taxi service and pay for it. Even the black tourists on the beach and other black professionals pay most of the times. They may not want to give a tip, but they would pay. However, the driver has no way to distinguish between the ‘good Black’ and the dangerous ones - except on rare occasions. Therefore, the majority of the drivers say, “No Black.” Instead of taking a chance with some Blacks to end up not getting paid, robbed, or even killed; they simply leave their Negro kin stranded.

By E.C. GRANMOUN
E.C. Granmoun is the author of "The Social Worker" ebook on amazon.com
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