Mister Anthony

In Longreads, poet Saeed Jones describes a Lyft ride through New Orleans with Mister Anthony, a retired Mississippian now doing gig work. Anthony shares stories of racism he experienced in his home state, and Jones recognizes his own deep fear: Mississippi is the only place he's felt genuinely scared for his safety as a Black man. Their brief encounter becomes a meditation on unexpected human connection—how strangers sometimes offer each other what's most needed: the chance to set down one's burdens.

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