Evans and I share the distinction of being, let's say, burly men. As such, our demeanor can appear threatening or angry when we are simply irritated. And Evans has a lot to be irritated about, considering most polls place him last in the five-man Democratic field.
When I was younger, I realized that many white people - whether they grew up in the North or South - are just plain apprehensive around black men, especially burly ones. They think the Nat Turner in us is going to spring forth at any moment.
That's probably not going to happen. For me, it helps to remember James 1:19, which urges us to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
As a cub reporter who often needed to talk to people who get nervous around big black men, I learned to tone down my attitude. I learned to dress conservatively and to try not to raise my voice, even when I really was angry.
Evans is a skilled politician. I'm not saying anything he doesn't already know - and do. But over the course of this campaign, Dwight too frequently has just been Dwight. He's shown his irritation when he was irritated, and that's allowed people to comfortably fall into their penchant to stereotype.
The stereotyping of Fattah as running a lazy campaign is almost mind-boggling. Lazy is an inappropriate adjective for someone who, after dropping out of high school, earned a Penn master's degree, became the youngest person elected to the Pennsylvania House, has served five terms in Congress, and runs maybe the most efficient get-out-the-vote operation in Philadelphia.
Perhaps past success has made Fattah complacent. Maybe he needs a challenge as huge as being mayor to be truly energized. But calling him lazy comes too close to a stereotype black men have been trying to shake off since the days of Stepin Fetchit.
