The Central Park incident is stuck in my mind, exhausting to contemplate. If you are violating the rules of a nationally known nature preserve, a good person says "Oh I'm sorry" and corrects the mistake. Amy Cooper was mad that this "African American man" corrected her. (1)

Her desire to not walk her dog took precedence over the rules of the space and a black person who sought to correct her. So she wasn't confused or afraid. She was letting him know that even in violation of the rules she had authority over the space and over him. (2)

His knowledge of the space, his respect for nature, compelled him to ask her to stop violating the space. She wanted him to feel like the violation just for being there. She was the violator and the aggressor, but she wanted him to know that he would always be seen that way. (3)

Those are the mechanisms that undergird de facto segregation. Following the rules or not, she felt ownership over the space and didn't want to be questioned about it. That last "fearful" cry tells you everything you need to know. #StudyingSegregation