WHITE WOMAN APOLOGISES FOR ACCUSING BLACK MAN OF TRESPASSING

Real estate developer DaMichael Jenkins shared door-camera footage from a recent incident, where a white woman trespassed on his property in the US state of Ohio, claiming he was an intruder. Footage shows Michelle Bishop didn’t believe Jenkins when he said he lived there, prompting her to run away while screaming for help. When Bishop returned to the scene, Jenkins and his wife asked what prompted her to do that. Bishop stated, ‘Well, you just have to understand my point of view, being by myself with two kids.’

After many online accused Bishop of racial profiling, she released a video statement denying racist intentions.

This incident sheds light on a much deeper issue. Long-standing racist stereotypes about Black men lead to profiling and disproportionately higher rates of incarceration.

In a similar incident in 2020, on the same day as the arrest and murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, a white woman named Amy Cooper was walking her unleashed dog in New York's Central Park when she encountered Christian Cooper (of no relation to Amy), a bird watcher. She declined Christian’s request that she leash her dog for safety. Amy was recorded on camera frantically calling 911, claiming, 'An African-American man is threatening my dog and myself. Please send help!' Shortly after, Amy apologised, claiming she was scared, but she lost her job at an investment firm as a consequence.

In the case of 14-year-old Emmett Till (1941-55), a false accusation of sexual harassment led to a white mob torturing and k*lling him in Mississippi. Six decades later, his accuser, Carolyn Bryant (1934-2023), admitted that she had lied.

So, while it may seem like not a big deal, the impact of these false allegations can devastate lives especially in a country with a trigger happy police force that have routinely killed black people on camera.

Video credit: @Raindropsmedia1 (X)

Sources:

https://theshaderoom.com/damichael-jenkins-ohio-woman-profiling-home-camera-video/ 

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/white-woman-apologizes-accusing-black-184917226.html 

https://www.npr.org/2020/05/26/862230724/white-woman-who-called-police-on-black-bird-watcher-in-central-park-placed-on-le 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/26/central-park-new-york-white-woman-black-birdwatcher 

https://eji.org/news/emmett-till-accuser-admits-she-lied

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2023/04/28/carolyn-bryant-accused-emmett-till