Antoine Dangerfield hoped that by capturing a group of Latino workers protesting the firing of a few associates would bring awareness of mistreatment at his job. Unfortunately, Dangerfield’s viral video with his noticeable commentary has resulted in his loss of a job as well.
According to The Root, Dangerfield was terminated for posting the video to his Facebook account. He was offered $250 to take it down, but the visual amassed over a million views so he determined there was “nothing I could do about it.” The group of construction workers was building a UPS superhub when they were scrutinized by a white “safety coordinator,” who Dangerfield said spewed racist rhetoric and fueled the walk-out. The unnamed supervisor was also fired.
The incident occurred during a safety meeting. According to Dangerfield’s interview with Jacobin, these meetings normally have a Spanish translator, but that gathering didn’t have someone available. The supervisor called upon a Latino worker to translate his statements, but the worker refused. Dangerfield said the supervisor became irate and attempted to send “five or six of them home.” That’s when the majority of the workers “took a stand.”
Dangerfield also shared that he felt compelled to capture the intensity of the moment. “I just felt that power, man. It just felt good,” he said. “They were walking out with their heads up, strong. It touched me. That’s why I was like, wow, this is beautiful. It was beautiful that they came together like that — stood up for themselves and not let that dude walk all over them.”
He added that he’s not fazed by losing his job because “If we can get it in our heads that we are the people, and if we make our numbers count, we can change anything.” The viral moment also garnered the attention of celebrities like J. Cole and Snoop Dogg.
“This what black people need to be on” respect https://t.co/glPDW1iwdo
— J. Cole (@JColeNC) August 3, 2018
A GoFundMe page to assist with Dangerfield’s unemployment has been publicized as well.
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