In less than 24 hours after watching the movie, “The Secret Society of Magical Negroes,” I experienced my very own magical negro moment.
The premise of the movie is that the most dangerous animal on the planet (at least for Black people) is a white person who is made uncomfortable/fearful by the mere presence a Black person; so, magical negroes manipulate the situation to put white people at ease for the safety of Black people.
I had to see this movie. How often have Black people done things, such as code-switch, for example, so as not to alarm white friends, coworkers, or just white people whose line of vision we’ve entered?
I regularly attend a Sunday morning hot yoga class. Not only is the room temperature fabulous, but when you open the door, which remains closed to preserve the heat and humidity, the subdued lights, incense and music invites you into another world for the next 60 minutes.
My favorite spot in the room is anywhere along the front row. This particular morning, I was the first yoga student to set up her mat left of center, followed by another Black woman, who I befriended in a previous class. She set up to the left of me, presumably at the end of the front row.
Minutes later, a white-appearing woman squeezed her mat into a tiny space to the left of the other Black woman. I couldn’t believe anyone would want to corner themselves between the wall, where the portable humidifier was, and that close to another yogi.
I made eye contact with the white-appearing woman while patting the empty space to my right. “Hey, you could set up here and have more space.”
Before the white-appearing woman had any think-time, the other Black woman sprung up, gathered her things and set herself up in the space to my right.
Simultaneously, the white-appearing woman admonished herself out loud. “Oh, why didn’t I see that space? I could have set my mat there.”
If given a few seconds to think, I believe the white-appearing woman would have moved. Instead, the other Black woman beat her to it.
Yes, I was disappointed at how quickly the other Black was to accommodate the white-appearing woman. Or perhaps she thought she was accommodating me. The point is that the white-appearing woman was the last to join the front row and didn’t need to crowd into that space nor was she dangerously upset. More of a “how silly of me” reaction.
As politely as I could, I expressed my surprise that she had wanted to be so close to the humidifier. I’m not sure that I heard the white-appearing woman correctly, but I thought I heard her say that she was from the desert and was used to humidity.
Extending some grace to my own hearing as I did to her vision, I figured that the background music caused me to mishear what she’d said.
Nonetheless, the incident didn’t prevent me from having a good yoga practice. I still cannot help but to hope that that white-appearing woman will be more mindful and vigilant when she enters the yoga room.
As far as not being a magical negro, I know firsthand how challenging it is to turn off or slow down a survival instinct.