I guess you can add "taking pictures while black" to the growing list of things that can make you look suspicious. According to reports, a white woman working the press box at the Preakness Stakes horse race in Baltimore called the police on a black photographer in spite of him having credentials to shoot there.
“I just witnessed a young, black photog (Arturo Holmes) be discriminated against in the press box,” photojournalist J.M. Giordano tweeted during the race. “He had the proper credentials and was extremely polite asking where he could shoot. His driver's license was demanded and the cops called.” (@jmgpix)
“He asked to shoot on the roof and was told he couldn’t shoot anywhere in the press box,” Giordano continued. “Not true. I and other photogs have been shooting on the roof all day. After he refused to show his license, which no one was required to do, police were called in,” the post read. “They let him shoot.”
In a response to Giordano’s post, horse breeder Teresa Genaro said she saw the incident differently.
"I saw a disagreement about credentials,” she wrote, “and what I was told was that the photographer in question had not followed proper procedures.”
It's the latest in an increasing number of viral incidents of African Americans having police called on them for seemingly harmless mundane activities.
Source: rawstory.com
