INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The black women waiting for help from the American Automobile Association said they could smell the alcohol on the breath of Susan Westwood,
the slurring, unsteady white woman who had approached them in a dark parking lot in Charlotte, North Carolina
But Westwood had no trouble conveying a racially-tinged message straight out of the Jim Crow era.She is white, she told the two black women,
and a resident of the apartment complex in one of the city's most exclusive neighborhoods where they happened to be standing
She makes $125,000 a year and pays hefty rent, and her children attend Myers Park High School."This is Myers Park
What are you doing hanging out here on a Friday night" she asked
So what are you doing here'"Mary Garris's night had started to sour even before Westwood sauntered up
She was visiting her sister, Leisa, on Oct
19, but when she went to leave, her car wouldn't start
They got on the phone with AAA, but the call was interrupted by Westwood's meandering tirade.So instead, the sisters used the cellphone to
record the moment when waiting for a tow truck became yet another thing you can't do while black.In viral incidents over the past few years,
black and brown people have found themselves accosted or worse while going about their daily lives, in almost laughably innocuous scenarios,
such as waiting for a school bus while black, throwing a kindergarten temper tantrum while black, drinking iced tea while black, waiting at
Starbucks while black, AirBnB'ing while black and shopping for underwear while black.But people who suddenly found themselves on the
receiving end of racial harassment have been empowered by a new weapon: cellphones
Recordings of the incidents have sparked viral videos and spontaneous hash-tagged nicknames for people like #BBQBecky and #PermitPatty, who
have been scorned publicly and on social media and, in some cases, fired from their jobs.But the Garrises' encounter went beyond an
uncomfortable moment for a black person in a public space, as Westwood escalated to profanity, racial stereotypes then threats.First
Westwood asked, "Is your boyfriend here Is your baby daddy here" Repeatedly, she raised her cellphone in a mocking tone: "Mmm, girl girl, I
I got you girl, girl." Westwood demanded to know where the women lived and screamed, "You're not going to sell drugs here!"Then she warned
that it could be dangerous hanging out in the mostly white neighborhood."Do I need to bring out my concealed weapon, too" she asked the
"This is North Carolina, by the way."The sisters' growing unease was reflected in the 911 call Leisa Garris placed after retreating to an
apartment balcony."The lady keeps coming out here harassing me still," she said to the dispatcher, imploring officers to come faster as
Westwood can be heard screaming insults in the background
"I don't know what to do still
The lady was pushing me in my face."No one was injured, but officers who arrived found that Westwood's actions merited criminal charges
Westwood could not immediately be reached for comment.According to Officer Keith Trietley, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department
spokesman, Westwood has been charged with two counts of communicating threats and two counts of simple assault.The police report is scant
but notes that Leisa Garris does, in fact, live at the apartment complex in question.The drunken outburst also cost Westwood her job at the
local cable company that paid her $125,0000 and allowed her to live in the exclusive community."The incident recorded in Charlotte is a
blatant violation of Charter's code of conduct and clearly disregards the company's commitment to inclusion and respectful behavior,"
Patrick Paterno, a spokesman for Spectrum Communication, wrote in a statement about the incident
Westwood's employment with the company has been terminated, effective immediately."But even days later, the incident - and the fact that
they could be accosted and threatened by a woman they'd never met - still stung."We are so distraught and still very upset about what has
taken place only because of the color of our skin," Mary Garris told Charlotte TV station WCCB
"It's so upsetting to know that today, we still have this overt racism that's going on in 2018."(Except for the headline, this story has not
been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
