From barbecues to water stands to political campaigning, it seems that people of color can hardly do anything without getting harassed and harangued by white people. Recently, a mixed-race family in California was simply walking down the street when a woman saw fit to approach and heckle them.
Essex Cook was walking in Berkeley, California with his family when a woman on the sidewalk began to follow the group, grabbing at them and verbally abusing them, presumably because several members of the group were black.
In a video of the incident, the woman, later identified as Lauren Milewski, can be heard saying, “You don’t belong here. Get out of Berkeley. Get out of here. You don’t belong anywhere.”
Apparently, Essex’s girlfriend and his cousin Elexia tried to de-escalate the situation, but Milewski became physically violent, grabbing Elexia’s dress and hair and before hitting her.
Many people walking by pretended not to notice the altercation.
“We were so loud and people were walking by not even making a noise, trying not to look at us, acting like they didn’t even notice,” Elexia told Indy100. “It just made me feel very uncomfortable.”
Fortunately, one group stopped and called the police on Milewski, and even stuck around to corroborate Cook’s story.
Milewski was apprehended by Berkeley police officers and “arrested on suspicion of public intoxication as well as violating probation after a prior grand theft charge.”
In the video of the arrest, Milewski is crying.
Cook and his family will apparently not be pressing charges — although they definitely could, considering Milewski’s blatantly racist and unprovoked attack.