A Nigerian, Chika
Okafor, 29, living in New York City, has been verbally attacked by a neighbour,
who was suspicious of him because he didn’t know him.
Okafor posted the video
on social media showing him and his friend, who is also black, being confronted
in his Upper West Side apartment building by the white neighbour.
According to the Dailymail,
the two men were waiting for a Lyft ride when they were accosted by a man, who
is white, who claimed to be a resident in the building.
Okafor, who works
for the sports news site Bleacher Report, wrote on his Facebook page: “I was
racially profiled in my apartment complex last night. While I was with my
friend Cassius Flemming waiting for a Lyft ride on the first floor of the
building that I have lived in since mid-December of last year, this man
interrogated me about where I live.”
Okafor further said:
“He thought that he was entitled to know who I was and where I lived simply
because, according to him, he lived there for 27 years. The arrogance is
appalling but honestly, not surprising because far too many times people of
color have been victims of this kind of behavior.”
The incident brings
to mind other instances this past year in which whites have complained to
police against blacks for doing routine activities.
Okafor said that he
has lived in the building since last year. The apartment building is a
four-story walk-up on First Avenue near 74th Street.
Okafor said: “I felt
insulted. I felt violated. To me, his behavior suggested that, one, because we
were people of color we were a threat to their safety, and, two, because we are
people of color we can’t afford to live in that type of apartment complex. It’s
the Upper East Side. It’s considered to be one of the wealthy parts of
Manhattan. It’s a nice apartment.”
Okafor filed a
complaint with the building manager, who declined to get involved. Instead,
Okafor was told to file a complaint with police, though he said he did not plan
on doing so. Okafor is, however, seeking an apology from the man, whom he
believes should be evicted.
“I’m not going to
change how I live my life based on this guy’s inappropriate behaviour,” Okafor
said.
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