A correspondent and news anchor for CNN was left shaken after allegedly experiencing three consecutive racist encounters in the Louis Armstrong
Racist encounters: Amara Walker was trying to catch a flight back home when “a man of color” suddenly approached her and said, “Ni Hao. Ching Chong,” according to her Twitter and Instagram posts last Thursday.
- Walker told CNN she encountered the same man again while in line to get a souvenir for her family.
- The journalist confronted the man about his actions earlier, but he denied the incident and walked away.
- Minutes after her first encounter, while Walker was explaining to her producer what happened, a young man without a mask approached them and asked her if she spoke English.
- The unnamed man mumbled incoherently and allegedly started throwing obscenities at Walker. At this point, her producer and the other people nearby demanded the man to leave her alone.
- Walker’s producer called airport security, but the officer who arrived angrily denied that what the young man did was racist.
- “That was not racist! Ok? Asking if she speaks English is not racist, ok? Do you understand me?” the officer allegedly said.
The aftermath: Walker told CNN she has never been encountered such incidents pre-COVID-19.
- “Asian Americans across the country deal with this on a regular basis and we’re not talking about it,” she said. “Many Asian Americans don’t raise our voices, including myself. I’ve probably wouldn’t have written about this if this wasn’t so egregious.”
- Walker received many emails of support from her CNN colleagues and followers after she shared her experience.
- Shortly after, public apologies from New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and the New Orleans Airport were posted to Twitter, condemning the racism Walker experienced.
- Walker thanked them and included that racism can happen anywhere.
Featured Image via amarawalkercnn
