A Georgia therapy clinic has decided to terminate one of its employees involved in a viral encounter with a Black fisherman.
It all started on Tuesday (July 11) when Anthony Gibson, an aspiring actor, posted a video of the incident on TikTok. According to Daily Mail, neighbors of Gibson, who resides in a Columbus neighborhood, have challenged him for being at the “residents only” lake.
During his encounter with a woman, later identified as Tanya, footage showed her approaching the man and his friend. After exchanging greetings, she asked if they were neighborhood residents. Gibson’s friend said, “Are we bothering you in any way?” Tanya replied, “I just have to ask.” Later, Tanya told the two individuals that she will take a picture of their license plates and “forward it on.” Holding the camera, Gibson revealed the experiences he’s been through as a local resident. “OK, so this is what I go through. This is the third person. I’m in my own neighborhood. And a white person came and bothered me while I am fishing,” he said. “Another white person bothered me while I was fishing.”
I Get harassed when i Go fishing because these privileged people don’t think i live in this nice neighborhood! #racistneighborhood #fishinggonewrong #ijustwanttofish #oldladyharrassingme #iliveinthisneighborhood
After the video went viral online, Tanya’s place of employment, Sea Glass Therapy, shared on message on Facebook. “In response to the video containing a contractor who was working with us, we wanted to make this statement,” the clinic wrote. “We turned off our comments due to some unhelpful ones that were being made on our business page. You are welcome to reach out to us with any questions you may have.”
The statement read, “Sea Glass Therapy is a place of acceptance, healing, and inclusion of all people regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or background. We stand against discrimination of all forms. We have terminated our business relationship with the independent contractor, Tanya. In order to uphold our values and standards. We strive to be a service to our community and do whatever we can to accommodate the needs of it, operating with integrity.”