Would You Call 911?

An unflinching moment from Jim Christ’s novel, Right There in Black and White — a story that doesn’t look away.

When Kendi rounds the corner and sees a woman’s body lying on the ground, he knows one thing for sure: this situation is dangerous. Not because of her—but because of him.

In a racially charged America, even trying to help could make him a suspect. What would you do?

“Even trying to help could make him a suspect.”

“Probably best to mind my own business and go on home. A young Black man doesn’t just find a white woman dead on the street. No, a young Black man who finds a dead white woman must have had something to do with putting her there… Not just important, critical.”

But then, maybe she’s not dead, and I’m standing here like a fool when maybe I could keep her from dying.

…He pulled out his phone and made the call. He pictured Mama, back in Arizona, shaking her head at him and telling him he was being foolish and bullheaded.

“Nine-one-one. What is your emergency?”

He hesitated, maybe because the operator sounded like another white woman or maybe because he didn’t really know what the emergency was.

“There’s… there’s a woman here on the street, and I think she’s dead. I don’t know.”

📘 From Right There in Black and White by Jim Christ

Buy the book here → Right There in Black and White