Source: Daniel Allan / Getty
There has been a recent uptick in Black folks getting the cops called on them simply for existing, and in Ohio, another fine example of wasted resources was at work. A Black family delivering papers in Columbus had the cops called on them after one of the boys went to pick up a paper that was incorrectly delivered.
Local outlet ABC 6 reports:
Brandie Sharp and her sons, 17-year-old Mycah and 11-year-old Uriah, were delivering “The Bag” to porches on Barrington Road in Upper Arlington, Ohio.
“It is the whole job of teaching them to work,” said Sharp.
But, Uriah had to go back.
“We had delivered to the wrong houses,” his mom said. “So he went to go grab the newspapers to make sure everything was okay.”
Then, a police officer showed up, and asked what they were doing.
“I showed him the thing for the Dispatch, The Bag, the midday week paper, that we get,” she said. “He said ‘Oh, really?’ and by that time I was kind of like, ‘Okay, why are you questioning me about this?’”
Someone had called Upper Arlington Police.
Upper Arlington, which is part of the greater Columbus Metropolitan area, is listed as a predominately-white city and at a glance, the Sharp family are obviously people of color. While officials at the force say that race wasn’t a motivating factor for the stop, Sharp wasn’t convinced.
Sharp says she explained to the officer what she and her sons were doing to no avail, and her youngest son says that the incident made it so he’s become relunctant to do the newspaper runs now.
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Photo: Getty
Delivering While Black: Black Boys Delivering Papers Get Cops Called On ThemĀ was originally published on hiphopwired.com
