China McClain Shares a Personal Story to Educate Others on What It’s Like to be Black in America

China McClain posted a short, eight-minute video to her Instagram titled “Lightweight Racism Story” to give others a better understanding of the racism black people experience on an everyday basis.

McClain starts by telling the story of when her, her sister, a family member in a wheelchair, and a woman pushing the wheelchair, all four of them black, were taking a tram at an airport. A white man continued to stare at them and tell them they were blocking an entrance, which they were not. This same man continued to harass her and invade her space after boarding the tram. You can watch the full story below.

“This is lightweight stuff,” said McClain. “This is every day or every other day type stuff that you just got to push off and let it roll off your back for the sake of peace. But… these moments make you feel less than human. They make you feel like you’re less than a woman like I don’t deserve a seat.” 

McClain also shared about a time when her mother was checking out at the grocery store and the ringer asked her for her food stamps, assuming that McClain’s mother didn’t have the money to pay for her groceries. 

“Stuff like that happens to us literally all the time,” said McClain. “But it’s stuff like that that builds up and builds up and builds up. When people ask ‘why are you defensive or why are you aggressive,’ it’s like, dude, you don’t even understand. It’s not just this one experience. It’s back to back to back to back to back to back experiences.”

McClain ends the video expressing her concern for her brother now that he’s learning to drive. She explains that her brother, a teenager, looks significantly older than he is, which could lead to unwarranted attention from cops. 

“I’m really scared for him to learn how to drive because he can’t walk around with a sign on his forehead that says ‘Hey, I’m a kid’ for these cops that are running around here,” said McClain. 

Go to @chinamcclain on Instagram to watch the full video and to watch other videos McClain has posted about being black in America.