#DonatingWhileBlack is now on the list of things that may cause a white person to call 911.
Erika Martin was accused of being a thief while trying to help a homeless man outside of a California Safeway on Sunday, according to KPIX.
Martin said she regularly gives food and other donation goods to those in need because it makes her feel good. One person who she is particularly kind to, is a man who frequents her local Mountain View Safeway.
“That day, I decided to give him dog food for his dog,” she told the news station.
That’s when Martin says she was suddenly approached by officers.
“The police just blocks me in. I’m like, ‘what’s going on'” she said, while left defending herself to officers.
“Then [the police officer] was like ‘well, we were called here because you fit the description of someone taking items out of Safeway and bringing it back to your car'” said Martin.
Apparently, Martin, who was still in her car and hadn’t even set foot in Safeway, was accused of “conspiring with an African American man and a group of kids that were also shoplifting and bringing items back to her car.”
According to reports, she said her son had gotten out of the car to go inside the deli to see if there were any cookie samples available, “as he’s done many times before.”
However, what was supposed to have been a day to give back for both Martin and her son, ended up being another heartbreaking example of the prejudice that Blacks seem unable to escape in America.
Martin recanted how her son was left scared and in tears while sitting in their car.
“He was like crying because he thought they were there to arrest me,” she said.
Although Safeway gave a thorough description to the police officers, the description didn’t match that of Martin, who was wearing a religious T-shirt not to mention listening to gospel music and had just dropped off items to the homeless male.
“Racism still exists,” Martin said, noting that the “damage was already done” despite police saying that Martin and her family were cooperative given the mix-up.
“I blame the Safeway employees and for them to do something like that to me is just hurtful and shameful,” she said. “I am not going back to that Safeway ever.”
Martin is still waiting for an official apology from corporate.
In this particular case, Martin wasn’t arrested. But, although representing only 13 percent of the U.S. population, Blacks are the largest group of individuals who are wrongfully convicted of crimes and later exonerated, according to a study by the University of Michigan.
