#CookingOutWhileBlack

THE ROOT: The Photo & Story That Started It All...

White Lady Calls Cops on Black Family Cooking Out in Oakland, CA

Here's another incredible act of blatant racism and the most recent example of white people calling the police on black people for no good reason other than their mere existence. When the story originally came to light, no one knew her name and she was referred to as 'BBQ Becky' or 'The Becky' in some of the early news reports. Apparently, this woman took it upon herself to determine who could and couldn't barbecue in a community park by calling the police on a black family who was using a charcoal grill in a designated non-charcoal area of the park. In response to her aggressive intrusion, a male member of the family stated that he has been grilling in that particular area of the park for many years without a problem.

NEWSONE: Alleged Identity of White Woman Who Called

The Police on Black People at BBQ in Oakland, CA is Revealed

This subsequent article claims that the woman is Dr. Jennifer Schulte and she is on the faculty of Stanford University. However, the university quickly issued a statement indicating that she earned graduate degrees at Stanford more than a decade ago, but she is not currently employed as faculty or staff. According to her alumni page, it appears she is associated with Horizon Water & Environment Company in Oakland.  Further, because of her bogus call to the police and the stunt she pulled afterward which was caught on video, she now has the dubious distinction of being the 'most memed person' and the new 'Where's Waldo' for 2018. Here are just a few of those memes...

I could go on a rant about this story, but I've decided not to waste anymore of my time and words on it. But, I do have one question for Dr. Schulte. We know you were just trying to make America great again, but was it worth it? In spite of what your president said or promised you, black people (as well as other people of color) are here to stay and we aren't going anywhere. A couple of weeks later, it was reported that the black community of Oakland had a large BBQ event without incident in the same area of the park to show their solidarity and support for the black family that Dr. Schulte reported to the police.