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This is the moment a Virginia Dunkin' Donuts franchise owner called law enforcement on a woman because she filmed their heated exchange over whether she was racially profiling her.
Tirza Wilbon White, 46, filmed the conversation last Thursday on her cell phone, picking up after she and another 'brown-skinned' customer had been told they could not use the advertised free W-Fi unless they purchased something.
When Ms White – who claimed she visits the same location once or twice a week - asked Christina Cabral why she was being pushed to buy an item despite the advertisement, she was told the branch has had a number of incidents where fights have broken out among loiterers.
'I don't know what company you own but as a franchisee I do get to make my own rules and that's posting signs,' Cabral said. 'Because I need to ensure safety to my customers and I'm not saying you're a problem but I've had problems in the past with customers.
'They hang out here for eight hours, they get into fights…'
When Cabral told the regular visitor 'we can't have customers hanging out', White noted that the brand is regularly listed as a top place to use Wi-Fi for free and asked for clarification on whether it was purely down to the owner's choice.
After she replied 'yes' and gave in to handing over her business information, she added that she had nothing against White personally but wanted to make her customers 'feel safe'.
The conversation intensified as White probed deeper.
'I have something unfortunate to share with you,' she began. 'I am a brown person, he is a brown person, I've been coming here for two years…'
At that point the boss cut her off to say her decision was not motivated by race and emphasized she had family members who are 'mixed'.
'Oh please, listen don't say this is racial profiling, it's my family, it's mixed,' Cabral said. She followed it up by pointing White toward the door. 'You can leave my location. I find that offensive.'
White - whose own family is of mixed heritage - responded that the owner didn't get to 'trump' her experience because she is the black person in this situation.
At that point Cabral made the decision to call in law enforcement.
Cabral argued that she was contacting police because the customer was blackmailing her. She added that she also had reason to get cops to the store 'because you're recording me without telling me.
However White made her rights clear by pointing out that Virginia is a one-party consent state which means that an individual is allowed to record conversations in person or via telephone as long as they are a participant.
'You're the viral video of white people who call the police because they're upset,' White added. 'What crime? The police are for crime.'
After Cabral walked away on the phone, White also recorded her exchange with a responding officer who said she had to leave because it's the owner's place.
The officer confirmed they had dealt with incidents with loiterers at the location in past and while White explained that she unlikely to be the cause of a fight he shared that there was no way they could be sure.
He revealed that if she didn't leave the property he would have to issue her a summons.
While some have commented on the videos asking why she didn't go elsewhere to use the internet, in a Facebook post later, White gave more context to how the event unfolded.
She noted how she had only been seated for a few minutes when she was approached, the 'brown-skinned man' who had also been spoken to had in fact told them he was using his own hot spot, and that she was ignored when she asked whether the white man in front of her had been told the same thing.
White explained she had already packed up to leave but when the owner said she was calling law enforcement, she decided to stay and began recording. She was unaware Cabral hadn't actually contacted law enforcement the first time around.
'I didn't want to leave for a few reasons: because she would think her strategy of forcing brown-skinned people to buy coffee worked if we either bought it or chose not to and left. Either way future brown-skinned people would be mistreated and if they pushed back against her, as I did, they too would have police called, as the officer confirmed in one of the videos,' she said.
'Second, I didn't leave because I didn't want to give the impression I had done anything wrong. I also didn't want someone writing down my license plate and having police officers come to my door where I would then be forced to explain, completely out of context and without witnesses. So I stayed at DD until they arrived.'
White revealed that since the video was shared around the internet she had received calls from the corporate communications department to apologized but chose not to accept due to other incidences of social injustice.
'If I had been arrested, general counsel would be involved. I have no damages because I chose not to be arrested. At least I had a choice. Some don't. So your apology is insufficient for your owner who called the police on a black woman who refused her demand that I buy coffee to use WiFi that is free to every other customer in the store. If you truly care to know what would matter to me, it's accountability and change,' she revealed she told the Chief Communications Officer for Dunkin' Donuts.
She called for change after the incident involving Cabral whose family she said owns branches across Virginia and Maryland.
Recalling similar incidents of innocent black people being regarded as suspicious by white people 'at the pool, the coffee shop, on the sidewalk. In your own home and apartment building. At the park…' White said it was about a bigger problem.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ree-Wi-Fi.html
Tirza Wilbon White, 46, filmed the conversation last Thursday on her cell phone, picking up after she and another 'brown-skinned' customer had been told they could not use the advertised free W-Fi unless they purchased something.
When Ms White – who claimed she visits the same location once or twice a week - asked Christina Cabral why she was being pushed to buy an item despite the advertisement, she was told the branch has had a number of incidents where fights have broken out among loiterers.
'I don't know what company you own but as a franchisee I do get to make my own rules and that's posting signs,' Cabral said. 'Because I need to ensure safety to my customers and I'm not saying you're a problem but I've had problems in the past with customers.
'They hang out here for eight hours, they get into fights…'
When Cabral told the regular visitor 'we can't have customers hanging out', White noted that the brand is regularly listed as a top place to use Wi-Fi for free and asked for clarification on whether it was purely down to the owner's choice.
After she replied 'yes' and gave in to handing over her business information, she added that she had nothing against White personally but wanted to make her customers 'feel safe'.
The conversation intensified as White probed deeper.
'I have something unfortunate to share with you,' she began. 'I am a brown person, he is a brown person, I've been coming here for two years…'
At that point the boss cut her off to say her decision was not motivated by race and emphasized she had family members who are 'mixed'.
'Oh please, listen don't say this is racial profiling, it's my family, it's mixed,' Cabral said. She followed it up by pointing White toward the door. 'You can leave my location. I find that offensive.'
White - whose own family is of mixed heritage - responded that the owner didn't get to 'trump' her experience because she is the black person in this situation.
At that point Cabral made the decision to call in law enforcement.
Cabral argued that she was contacting police because the customer was blackmailing her. She added that she also had reason to get cops to the store 'because you're recording me without telling me.
However White made her rights clear by pointing out that Virginia is a one-party consent state which means that an individual is allowed to record conversations in person or via telephone as long as they are a participant.
'You're the viral video of white people who call the police because they're upset,' White added. 'What crime? The police are for crime.'
After Cabral walked away on the phone, White also recorded her exchange with a responding officer who said she had to leave because it's the owner's place.
The officer confirmed they had dealt with incidents with loiterers at the location in past and while White explained that she unlikely to be the cause of a fight he shared that there was no way they could be sure.
He revealed that if she didn't leave the property he would have to issue her a summons.
While some have commented on the videos asking why she didn't go elsewhere to use the internet, in a Facebook post later, White gave more context to how the event unfolded.
She noted how she had only been seated for a few minutes when she was approached, the 'brown-skinned man' who had also been spoken to had in fact told them he was using his own hot spot, and that she was ignored when she asked whether the white man in front of her had been told the same thing.
White explained she had already packed up to leave but when the owner said she was calling law enforcement, she decided to stay and began recording. She was unaware Cabral hadn't actually contacted law enforcement the first time around.
'I didn't want to leave for a few reasons: because she would think her strategy of forcing brown-skinned people to buy coffee worked if we either bought it or chose not to and left. Either way future brown-skinned people would be mistreated and if they pushed back against her, as I did, they too would have police called, as the officer confirmed in one of the videos,' she said.
'Second, I didn't leave because I didn't want to give the impression I had done anything wrong. I also didn't want someone writing down my license plate and having police officers come to my door where I would then be forced to explain, completely out of context and without witnesses. So I stayed at DD until they arrived.'
White revealed that since the video was shared around the internet she had received calls from the corporate communications department to apologized but chose not to accept due to other incidences of social injustice.
'If I had been arrested, general counsel would be involved. I have no damages because I chose not to be arrested. At least I had a choice. Some don't. So your apology is insufficient for your owner who called the police on a black woman who refused her demand that I buy coffee to use WiFi that is free to every other customer in the store. If you truly care to know what would matter to me, it's accountability and change,' she revealed she told the Chief Communications Officer for Dunkin' Donuts.
She called for change after the incident involving Cabral whose family she said owns branches across Virginia and Maryland.
Recalling similar incidents of innocent black people being regarded as suspicious by white people 'at the pool, the coffee shop, on the sidewalk. In your own home and apartment building. At the park…' White said it was about a bigger problem.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ree-Wi-Fi.html
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