A White woman who made racist comments to a Black couple over an argument at a New York City dog park was fired from her job after video was shared online.
Frederick Joseph posted a video of part of the confrontation in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
According to Joseph, the woman told him and his fiancée:
"You're not from around here. Go back to your hood. Stay in your hood. Stay in your hood."
This is when he decided to start recording.
At the dog park in Brooklyn with my fiancé and this white woman was threatening to call police and told us to “stay… https://t.co/p0mNcwF09O— Frederick Joseph (@Frederick Joseph) 1632615453.0
The incident started when the woman tried to confront Joseph over his dog. According to him, she thought his dog was being aggressive.
Joseph tried to explain she must have been mistaken, when she told him to "stay in [his] hood."
He told CBS2 New York:
"At that point, I'm like, look, what you're doing is deeply, deeply offensive, deeply racist, and I want to get this on camera because I don't want there to be any misconceptions about what took place here."
"She was saying a lot of things, and that's when, like, finally, like, 'You guys need to take your dog out of here. You people shouldn't even be here'."
At the start of the video, the woman tries to knock the phone out of Joseph's hand. When this proves unsuccessful, she gives him a rude gesture.
A bystander in the video, Steve Tracy, is asked to verify what the woman said, which he agrees with Joseph.
Tracy also spoke with CBS2, saying:
"As those words were coming out and things started to unfold, it was pretty obvious to me, like, this is… this is not OK."
And the internet agreed it was not ok.
@chattypatra @FredTJoseph But infuriating that we have to rely on "good White people" to back us up because of Whit… https://t.co/CQB7H0pDo2— Residual Self Image (@Residual Self Image) 1632619592.0
@FredTJoseph Ugh!!! I hate this for you. Tried to claim the victim until the other white person confirmed it. My fe… https://t.co/wRVlrDiqXb— Amanda (@Amanda) 1632624284.0
She is disgusting,you don't treat people that way https://t.co/Ow8SNH0Gur— Frank Mannino (@Frank Mannino) 1632621186.0
This exactly how you make racism expensive. All that holding hands and we all humam stuff hardly works. Some people… https://t.co/4CYUvfEFkS— Bougie Black Girl (@Bougie Black Girl) 1632749155.0
The video had some online wondering who this woman was.
On the internet, things rarely stay secret for long.
Yeah, unless she has a twin who lives in Brooklyn, this is her. https://t.co/WqEXxpkBKi— Frederick Joseph (@Frederick Joseph) 1632664363.0
I’ve been told that @DerekjAndersen and @bevyhq have let go of Emma Sarley, as her racism against me and fiancé doe… https://t.co/kbk79dqncb— Frederick Joseph (@Frederick Joseph) 1632700315.0
The woman was identified as Emma Sarley, and her LinkedIn page was discovered. With this information, Joseph tagged her employer and asked if they were okay with how she reacted.
They were not, and announced she had been let go. Derek Andersen, the CEO of the company, also offered to provide help with a resolution between the two parties.
This led to a debate online about whether or not Sarley deserved to be identified and fired.
You don’t belong here, but I’m not racist. REALLY? But you ate most definitely fired for being…RACIST 🤨 https://t.co/y9oAkpcRvj— Delphia L Walker (@Delphia L Walker) 1632775410.0
@secularwakanada @FredTJoseph She did it to herself. All she had to do was walk away— SouthWest Twon (@SouthWest Twon) 1632701998.0
@AntiBiParty1 @FredTJoseph The victim never asked for her termination. In a free market, employers can terminate an… https://t.co/5JVdkufCgO— Joseph Patrick 🧢 (@Joseph Patrick 🧢) 1632763636.0
@YangAbroad @FredTJoseph She got her self fired actually— don juan (@don juan) 1632745305.0
Joseph responded to Sarley's firing too.
While he felt it was "unfortunate" she lost her job, he felt it was important for accountability.
"Having to bear the burden of racism, sexism, homophobia, etc...—I think that it's important for people to know that there are consequences for their actions. And I don't think it's up to victims to have to coddle people who are engaging in abuse."