‘I’ve never felt more disrespected or belittled in my life,’ man says of racist remark from Martha’s Vineyard bus driver
Authorities say the driver told the man that he wasn’t picked up by the bus, "because you are black."
The man who was subjected to a racist remark by a bus driver on Martha’s Vineyard has contacted the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and a civil rights attorney to look into the incident, the Martha’s Vineyard Times reports. The Martha’s Vineyard Transit Authority announced Thursday that the driver involved has been fired. The transit agency said the driver, who has not been publicly identified, was operating a Route 13 bus headed toward Oak Bluffs on Wednesday afternoon when they passed by a person trying to flag down the bus in Edgartown. The bus was at capacity, but the VTA said the driver hadn’t switched the bus marquee display. The man who wasn’t picked up took an Uber to Oak Bluffs where he asked the bus driver why the bus didn’t stop for him. “Upon review of the onboard audio/video footage, it was determined the vehicle operator responded to the person’s inquiry by saying the bus was full, and when the person challenged this response, the operator stated ‘well, it’s because you are black,’” the VTA said in a statement. Kevin Brooks, who lives in New Bedford and commutes to work on the island as a barber, told the Times he reported the incident to the VTA. He said he regularly takes the bus, but Wednesday was different. “I am from the south,” he told the newspaper. “If I feel racism I deal with it. For the first time in my life I had to swallow it. I’ve never felt more disrespected or belittled in my life. I had trouble sleeping that night.” Brooks told the Times he asked the state’s discrimination commission to look into the incident. “Maybe he was having a bad day and the wrong thing came out of his mouth,” he said. “I’m not about any drama at all. I just want to provide for my family. I’m not here for a political debate.” Read the full report at the Times.
