Pulled Over at Night: A Young Black Officer’s Lesson in Survival

In 1996, I was a 27-year-old Black naval officer stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. One late night, I was driving home from Jacksonville along a dark, two-lane rural road — no lights, no traffic, just me and the sound of my tires against the pavement.

Then I saw it — headlights, brake lights, and the unmistakable turn of a police cruiser making a U-turn behind me.

In that moment, every image I had ever seen of how quickly things could go wrong for someone who looked like me came rushing to the surface. Nobody had ever given me “the talk.” I didn’t know the playbook. All I knew was that I wanted to make it home alive. 

This episode shares the story of that night — the split-second decisions, the unexpected conversation with the officer, and the reflections that came years later. It’s about instinct, survival, and the quiet ways Black Gen X learned lessons that weren’t always spoken but deeply understood. 
Because sometimes, survival isn’t about being brave — it’s about being wise.

🔊  In This Episode:

• Growing up without “the talk” about police encounters
• The night I got pulled over in rural North Carolina
• The three choices that flashed through my mind
• How a shared military connection shifted the moment
• Why survival sometimes means de-escalating before it begins
• Reflections from older Black Marines who reminded me what mattered most

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