Deron Generally
Deron GenerallyLos Angeles-based teacher, podcaster, and writer Johnny Parker II (Black Fist & Brown Hand, Die Cute) and artist Felipe Horas, depict the dreaded and statistically extremely fatal incident of a Black man at a traffic stop. From Microcosm Publishing, comes a bitingly satirical, and unfortunately still hyper-relevant zine, The Black Man’s Guide to Getting Pulled Over.
After a night out on the town with his girlfriend, a man is stopped by a cop on the way home, simply for driving while Black. This offers practical advice to avoid being murdered by the state on their evening commute, and paints a hyper-realistic image of all the bullsh*t things cops say to pretend that they reason they stopped you wasn’t their overt racism.
“This is the most personal story I’ve ever written because it was inspired by a moment of joy that was robbed from me,” said Johnny Parker II. “After I purchased my first ‘new-ish’ car, I was filled with excitement and anticipation, until I was pulled over the first night I brought the car home. For that whole first month, I was pulled over—again and again. I had two options: I could get angry, or I could try to solve the problem. The Black Man’s Guide to Getting Pulled Over is my attempt to help solve the problem.”
The Black Man’s Guide to Getting Pulled Over encourages readers to channel their righteous anger into pathways towards change—whether in the form of protest, community organization, and more. We all have a role to play in dismantling the racist systems that result in the deaths of far too many people to count.
