On Saturday (July 11), a video surfaced online of a Karen calling a Black woman “a good little slave” for abiding by mask-wearing rules, which were set in place by the government amid Coronavirus.
In the short clip shared by TMZ, the two women were getting ready to board a bus in Florida after Karen made a degrading remark. “You just told me ‘be a good little slave,’” the Black woman said.
“You’re wearing your mask like all the other little slaves out here,” Karen snapped back. Towards the end of the footage, she argued that her statement was justified because she’s “a Mexican woman of color.”
The video surfaced online after a San Francisco lawmaker Shamann Walton proposed a plan that would make discriminatory 911 calls illegal. The proposition was in response to white women, who are often referred to as “Karen,” calling the police over Black people doing regular activities.
“In these times of continued systemic and systematic oppression of Black people, we have to be innovative and strong with our solutions,” Walton said in a statement in regards to the act. “It is also our collective responsibility as the Board of Supervisors to prevent racial discrimination in all its forms and seek justice for people when we are unable to stop discrimination from happening.”
Human Rights Commission Director Sheryl Davis shared a similar sentiment regarding the proposition. “There should be consequences for actions that threaten the freedom and safety of others. Calling the police on someone that you label as out of place, simply for being Black or a person of color in public, is just as dangerous as yelling fire in a crowded theater,” he said.
In addition to Walton, several California lawmakers offered their support for the act, explaining that it is a right step in the direction for change.