As I watched this video my first thought was that this was a parody of the Trump Effect. How many times will folks repeat these stories that are repeated over and over again?
Sadly the Trump Effect continues even after having been exposed by similar actions by other white people caught on camera. This one is likely one of the most blatant and demeaning.
RawStory reported the following.
A video released over the weekend showed a white woman tried to block a black man from entering his own apartment because she apparently believed he was some kind of criminal. Local news station KMOV reports that St. Louis resident D’Arreion Toles was trying to enter his apartment on Friday night when he was confronted by a white woman who lived in the same building and who was about to go walk her dog.
The white woman proceeded to stand in a doorway to prevent Toles from entering the building and demanded to know what unit he lived in. He refused to give her that information, but he did show her a key fob to prove that he really lived in the building. This wasn’t enough for the woman, however, and she proceeded to follow Toles all the way up to his apartment, where she watched him use his keys to open up the door. “Have a good night, ma’am,” he told the woman as he closed the door to his apartment. “Don’t ever do that again. You look pretty stupid.”
The woman. Hilary Brooke Thornton later would call the police. According to the aggrieved black man, the police came and issued no citation. He gave the impression the police were not kind to him as they questioned him. The woman is an employee Tribeca-STL, a minority-owned company. She was subsequently fired.
Tribeca-STL was recently shared a video containing a disturbing interaction that we believe is important to clarify. The video did involve one of our employees, but the event did NOT take place at Tribeca-STL and did NOT involve one of our tenants. The video is showing the employee in her private life at her own residence interacting with another person. The Tribeca-STL family is a minority-owned company that consists of employees and residents from many racial backgrounds. We are proud of this fact and do not and never will stand for racism or racial profiling at our company. After a review of the matter the employee has been terminated and is no longer with our Company. At Tribeca-STL we want all residents, guests and visitors to feel welcome, safe and respected.
Ironically, Ms. Thornton was formerly married to a black man, Brandon Mueller. He made a video denouncing her actions. This illustrates the complexities of racism.
Trump Effect: If this isn’t justified for firing what is?
KMPV4 asked its viewers if Thornton’s firing was justified. It is shocking that 64% believe she should have kept her job. What does that tell us about the population at large? What does it say about the progress we have made thus far?