What can black people do without having the police called on them? Apparently not much.
Teen Vogue’s former Editor-in-Chief, Elaine Welteroth, is the latest black person to have the police called on her while she was simply riding in an Uber. Welteroth claims she was taking the car service to Flatbush in Brooklyn, when her own driver reportedly dialed 911.
It all started when her Uber stopped in a completely different borough than her destination, The Cut reports. When Welteroth informed the driver that it wasn’t her stop, he allegedly told her that “it’s not his job” to get her to the correct destination. Instead of re-routing, Welteroth claimed he began to call the police on her.
Although Welteroth was already out of the car by the time he got ahold of the police, she overheard him telling the authorities that she hit him. Luckily a bystander was nearby to vouch for Welteroth’s side of the story.
Welteroth said that she wasn’t initially going to share her story, but felt that it would be a disservice to black people who have to deal with this sort of treatment everyday. “I debated long and hard about whether or not to post about this,” read her Instagram Story. “But too often black women are shamed into silence because of a belief that no matter what we say or do, no matter who we are, ultimately we will be perceived as just another ‘angry black woman.’ We are afraid of reputational damage, we are afraid nothing will be done, and frankly, we don’t have time–so we stuff it. We stuff things like this every single day. but you know what? We shouldn’t have to.”
She added: “As a black woman with a platform that I utilize intentionally to project light, joy, and positivity, I cannot shy away from exposing the kings of disturbing things that happen to women like me every single day. I want you to know it happens to me too. No amount of career success, kindness, clout, education, or money invalidates you from being treated like trash by people you pay to deliver a service to you.”