I had just gotten off the 31 bus that stops at M St & Wisconsin Avenue and was making my way down Wisconsin to my office. Grace St is more like an alleyway and is one of the last streets before you reach the bottom of Wisconsin Ave. A large truck began to pull forward but when the drive saw me he stopped so that I could walk across the street and simultaneously said “Hey darlin.” As I passed in front of the truck the man in the passenger seat said something to the effect of “lookin’ good baby.” I turned, looked him in the eye and said “Would you speak to your mother that way?” I then proceeded to walk down to work–as the truck pulled onto Wisconsin Ave. and speed away the men said something else which I was unable to understand. I felt good about speaking up and have HollaBack to thank. I was listening to a segment on NPR about HollaBack and there were some helpful suggestions regarding how to diffuse a situation by posing an innocuous or non-threatening question.

Submitted by N.N. on 7/22/2010

Location: Wisconsin Avenue & Grace St NW (3200 block)

Time of Harassment: Morning Rush Hour (5A-9:30A)

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