Larry Madowo opens up on his encounter with racism in the US

Accomplished Kenyan journalist Larry Madowo this week wrote about his first-hand encounter with racism in the US.

Madowo narrated how he was invited to dinner by a friend in New York but was forced to use a dirty lift since the front desk thought he was a delivery guy.

“In my first week in New York City last summer, I was invited to dinner at a friend's penthouse on the wealthy Upper West Side.

“I picked up some fruit for her and arrived at her building carrying a plastic bag.

“The front desk sent me through an open courtyard to the back of the building, past residents' garbage bags and into a surprisingly dirty lift,” he wrote for the BBC.

Adding: “When I got off upstairs, my host opened the door mortified, all the colour drained from her face.

"My racist doorman thought you're a delivery guy and made you use the service elevator," she explained as she apologised.

“That early micro-aggression forewarned me that America may be the land of opportunity for many, but it would still reduce me to the colour of my skin and find me unworthy,” he wrote.

Following the death of George Floyd in the hands of an officer who pressed his knee on his neck in Minneapolis, there were protests all over US calling for justice.

Floyd’s memorial service was held on Thursday and in his eulogy RevAl Sharpton said it was high time blacks were accorded respect just like the other races.

He strongly condemned the incident using the words, “the reason we could never be who we wanted and dreamed of being is you kept your knee on our neck.”