Real estate investor Lawrence 'Taylor' Walker was racially profiled by a local resident who took photos of him and questioned his presence in the neighborhood. Walker shared the video on Instagram, sparking conversations about racial bias and belonging.
A Black man has shared footage of the moment he said he was racially profiled by a local resident who made him feel 'out of place' in the neighborhood. Real estate investor Lawrence 'Taylor' Walker, 35, was in his car outside one of his properties in Los Angeles , when he 'felt targeted' by a Caucasian resident. He watched as the man drove past him initially, and, without looking at the house behind him, the stranger stared only at Walker.
'When we made eye contact, instead of a nod or any kind of neighborly acknowledgment, he just sneered at me. That already stood out,' Walker told Newsweek. Shortly after, the man drove past him a second time and stopped right in the middle of the road. The man proceeded to take out his phone and take pictures of Walker and his car. At this point, the Californian said he 'knew exactly what this was about.' Walker turned his car around and pulled up alongside the man, whom he had never met previously, to ask why he was taking photos. Walker also recorded the encounter on his cellphone, as he wanted to ensure that what happened couldn't be spun. Walker said: 'He told me he was taking pictures because there had been reports of 'people who really shouldn't be here.' Then he asked me what I was doing, completely ignoring the active construction site in front of him.' 'I told him I owned four properties in the neighborhood, and instead of accepting that, he asked me which ones—like I owed him an explanation. He expected me to prove myself, as if I was obligated to share sensitive information with a complete stranger just to justify my presence,' Walker continued. The experience left him feeling frustrated, yet unsurprised. He has been racially profiled in that area before and is often made to feel like he needs to prove himself. Walker shared the footage on Instagram (@taylorwalker_re) of the resident 'racially profiling' him, and internet users were horrified by what Walker endured. The clip went viral with over 3 million views and more than 106,000 likes at the time of writing. While the viral response has been overwhelmingly positive, Walker said he isn't looking for people's sympathy. What he wants is for people to keep calling out this behavior and for change to occur. Walker told Newsweek: 'I wanted to take control of the narrative. Too often, the people who profile others can frame the story their way. By sharing the video, I made sure the truth was out there.' Walker continued: 'Fortunately, I own property in this neighborhood, so I stood my ground. But what if it was a young Black kid visiting a friend? What would've happened then? We've seen how situations can escalate, and we don't have to look far to see the worst outcomes. Ahmaud Arbery was killed for simply existing in a neighborhood where certain people thought he didn't belong.' From his experience, Walker said these issues 'almost always' come from older generations, especially residents who have lived in the neighborhood for decades. He said he believes they struggle with change, whereas younger residents have always been welcoming. Despite investing in the communities where he owns properties, and even growing up in that area, Walker says there are always people who assume he doesn't belong there because of his skin color. 'What made it worse was that I literally grew up in this neighborhood,' Walker said. 'My parents took me to the Westchester YMCA, I took computer courses at LMU, and I went on to graduate from LMU with both my bachelor's and master's degrees while playing for the men's basketball team. This isn't just a place where I do business—this is home.' This guy wasn't just challenging my presence at that house. He was challenging my right to exist in a neighborhood that's been part of my life since I was a kid,' Walker said. Since the footage was shared on Instagram, the post has amassed over 11,300 comments so far. Sadly, it resonated with many people who shared their own experiences of being racially profiled, while others unfortunately tried to discredit Walker's success. He said he is glad the viral post has sparked conversations online about what it means for someone to belong somewhere, and 'how deep these biases run' among communities. One comment on the Instagram post reads: 'Thanks for posting this. Need to hold the line and keep dudes like this accountable.' Another person wrote: 'I commend you on your restraint. Not sure I could do that.' 'I'm so sorry you had to experience such racism. You handled it perfectly,' one Instagram comment added
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