I was profiled in one of America's most liberal communities when an ordinary taxi ride turned into a kidnapping I still struggle with putting behind me. My name is Michael, and I am an American African. One of my most painful experiences in racial profiling found me trapped in the back of a locked taxicab as a raging lunatic drove me to the county jail because I "match the profile of a fare scoffer." Incidentally, if you're six feet tall, medium build, and a black male - you fit the profile, too. This would not become the first nor last time I was preyed upon because of my skin, yet it was deeply painful and has had a profound effect on me and my loved ones. Ultimately, my kidnapping spawned a lasting commitment to effect change via the stories so many of us share.