Paul Peralta, the general manager of the Portland Doubletree where Jermaine Massey, 34, was racially harassed, apologized today.
In a statement released on Friday, Peralta said, “we sincerely apologize to Mr. Massey for his treatment this past weekend, and deeply regret the experience he endured,” and added, “It was unacceptable and contrary to our values, beliefs and how we seek to treat all people who visit our hotel.” Read the rest
As Moore was finishing up, he said he turned around to find the resident outside near the front steps of the house, video-recording him on a cell phone.
“He kind of startled me,” Moore said. “He says, ‘Well, what are you doing here?’ I say, ‘We’re here doing our annual vegetation inspection.’ Then he asks for ID. I say no problem. He takes a picture of my ID and says I need to get a different one. I’ve had that ID for years. It’s kind of dark, and I’m more of a dark-skinned black guy, but you can still see me.”
Moore said he suggested that if the resident were still concerned, he could simply look out onto the street where “a big red fire engine is right there.”
photo: @OaklandFireLive Read the rest
My first response to this story was "Unbelievable!" but unfortunately in America it's all too real, too frequent, and very believable.
Tshyrad Oates says he has been a paying member of LA Fitness in Secaucus, NJ for at least eight years. But when he went to his gym earlier this week, the gym accused him of entering without paying. He showed them his membership card – twice, once to the manager and once to the expressionless clerk at the desk – and both times the computer showed that he was indeed a member of the gym. But that wasn't good enough. Police were called in.
By the end of the video above (or the fourth video below), Oates is wondering why the gym is now terminating his membership. He says he doesn't know what he did. Even one of the police officers admits he has no idea why Oates is getting kicked out.
The four videos below were taken by Oates' friend, who was with him at the gym. The gym manager told them they had to stop shooting the video, and even tried to get the police to make them stop with the camera, but the police admitted that it wasn't illegal to shoot a video.
I can feel my cortisol spiking as I watch this angry, aggressive Jacksonville, FL cop harassing a black man for jaywalking. He tickets him for that, and then when he finds out the man isn't carrying ID, tickets him for a bogus law – walking without ID. Read the rest
Talking Points Memorandum shares this incredible story of an America I don't believe I live in. Tennessee congressional candidate Rick Tyler is proudly running on a platform of racism.
Via TPM:
An independent candidate running for Tennessee's 3rd Congressional District seat is under fire for a campaign billboard he posted with the slogan "Make America White Again," local TV station WRCB reported Wednesday.
Rick Tyler confirmed to the station that he put up the billboard, which also lists the address for his campaign website. Tyler told WRCB that he does not hate people of color, but does believe America "should go back to the 1960s."
"(The) Leave it to Beaver time when there were no break-ins; no violent crime; no mass immigration," he told the news station.
Tyler also posted a billboard for his campaign that features part of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech superimposed on a drawing of the White House with Confederate flags around it, according to WRCB.
Some residents wrote in to the news station stating their desire to have the signs taken down. Tyler said that he respects their First Amendment rights but thinks many others share his views.
You'd hope these signs lose him more votes than they gain. I cry for Tennessee. Read the rest
