Trevor Noah Shares a Sobering Story About the Many Times He's Been Stopped by Police

During a behind-the-scenes moment from Tuesday’s Daily Show, Trevor Noah took a moment to discuss his experiences as a black man in America in light of the Philando Castile verdict.

Prior to his killing by Officer Jeronimo Yanez, Castile had been pulled over an extraordinary 52 times for minor offenses (including things like driving without a muffler). Noah shared that this shocked even him, who had “only” been stopped eight to ten times, which is, you know, also very crazy and racist.

“I’ve only lived in the United States six years on and off…In that time, I shit you not, I have been stopped by police maybe, I would say going on at least eight to ten times I’ve been stopped by the police, which always blows white peoples’ minds, which I didn’t know was a thing.

…

I’ve been stopped in a Tesla. Like, a Tesla, people. I don’t know what silent crime you think I’m on my way to commit.”

That white people find it difficult to conceive that a black person could be pulled over so many times is ridiculous. Noah’s experience also reinforces the myth behind the idea that success can act as a buffer against racism.

Noah went on to say that the murders of black people at the hands of the police comes down to more than just “black and white” or whether or not the police officer was racist as an individual. He explained that, “the police force as a whole is trained in such a way that it creates state racism.” Which, uh, yes.