Anthony Gibson enjoys fishing at a pond in his neighborhood in Newnan, Georgia. However, everyone in the neighborhood doesn’t like him fishing in his own neighborhood pond. Gibson began to document his experiences every time a white person would bother him as he was minding his business while trying to fish.
On July 11, Gibson was with two Black female friends fishing when a white woman, Tanya Petty, came up to the group and informed Gibson that the pond is for “residents only”. Petty also informed Gibson that she would write down his license plate number and report him to the neighborhood authorities. By the end of that day’s fishing trip, Gibson had been approached four times by white residents questioning his right to fish there.
Gibson later learned that Petty had been fired from her job as a massage therapist at Sea Glass Therapy which is an emotional wellness center as a result of her actions towards him. Gibson talked to NBC News about it, telling them his motivations: “I literally wanted people to see what people like me have to go through when they live in a nice neighborhood and people don’t think that they live there.” Gibson is not motivated to post the videos in any malicious attempt to get people fired, he just wants to document what happens when you’re Black and people think you don’t belong in a particular space. Now, there appears to be concern among some of Gibson’s neighbors who want him to help get Petty her old job back. Gibson responded in an interview, “I’m not going to help her get her job back. She still hasn’t apologized to me. I haven’t seen her since.”
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Source: Black Enterprise
