Advertisement

'Newport Nancy' calls police on black woman smoking in a parking garage, sparking 'Smoking While Black'

A woman reportedly called the police on a black woman smoking cigarettes in a parking garage, sparking #SmokingWhileBlack. (Photo: Getty Images)
A woman reportedly called the police on a black woman smoking cigarettes in a parking garage, sparking #SmokingWhileBlack. (Photo: Getty Images)

Introducing #NewportNancy, the latest hashtag star, who called the police on a black woman for smoking in a parking garage. The incident set off the new trend, #SmokingWhileBlack.

On Sunday, Stacy Etheridge, a mother in Wellington Manor, Georgia posted a Facebook video shot by her daughter who was smoking in the garage of her Buckhead, Atlanta apartment building when she was confronted by a woman in a neighboring car. Caucasian woman tells my daughter to put her cigarette out and decides to call the police on my daughter for smoking outside in a parking deck,” wrote Etheridge. “Police showed up and said it was no harm to others….this calling the cops on Blacks is getting way out of hand. Now you can’t smoke outside. #NewportNancy.”

In the footage, Etheridge’s daughter (whose name is unknown) says to the woman, “You said I can’t smoke here? You’re gonna have me kicked out? That’s what you said?”

To which the woman, wearing a green shirt, replies, “They’ll have you evicted for smoking on the property.” The daughter then asks, “Are you racist? Because I think you are. You just came out here harassing me for no reason.”

The woman makes a phone call from her car (it’s unclear if she’s calling the management company or the police) and can be heard saying, “There’s a resident here, who claims she lives here…” while the majority of the conversation is unintelligible.

Caucasian woman tells my daughter to put her cigarette out and decides to call the police on my daughter for smoking outside in a parking deck. Police showed up and said it was no harm to others….this calling the cops on Blacks is getting way out of hand. Now you can't smoke outside. #NewportNancy😡😡😡

Posted by Stacy Etheridge on Sunday, July 1, 2018

The post derived 3.1K comments and 10K shares on Facebook. “[Shaking my head,] it seems like we are going back to the 60s[…] they are going to run on the wrong black person and all hell is going to break [loose],” wrote one person. Others added, “Please start arresting the idiots calling the police for none emergencies,” and “The Police have more pressing issues!”

Etheridge also commented, “You guys keep sharing to put these folks to shame and others who may think of doing the same acts… maybe they will think twice before they decide to call 911 for non-emergency calls and start charging a fine and save some lives. Bring awareness to the ignorance. 911 has become a weapon of choice against Blacks. It could be you or me tomorrow or your loved ones. Share, share, share. Let’s stop it now!!” She used the hashtag, #Weworkinnumbers.

On Twitter, many demanded the identity of the woman in the video.

Yahoo Lifestyle could not reach Etheridge for comment, however, a representative from the Atlanta Police Department tells Yahoo Lifestyle that a police report of the incident could not be found. The rep added that calling 911 doesn’t necessarily result in a police report. In the meantime, #NewportNancy succeeds #PermitPatty, #PoolPatrolPaula, and #BBQBecky.

Last week, the hashtag #MourningWhileBlack surfaced after a priest kicked out a black family — and, subsequently their loved one’s corpse — for accidentally damaging a chalice during a wake.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.