A Houston-based animal shelter has severed ties with one of its volunteers after a video of her making racist remarks towards a Mexican street vendor emerged on social media.
In the clip, shared by popular street vendor activist Edin Alex Enamorado, the woman is seen approaching the street vendor with a phone against her ear, telling the vendor that a Harris County Sheriff's deputy is on his way to arrest him for illegally selling puppies on the roadside.
The street vendor responds by pointing out that they're in a parking lot, which the woman continues to maintain is still illegal. "Hopefully you're gone before the deputy gets here," she says to the vendor.
'Are You Even Here Legally?'
The woman then accuses the vendor of being an illegal immigrant. "Are you even here legally?" she is heard asking the man.
The woman, seen wearing a BARC t-shirt, then walks away before re-approaching the vendor as she continues to talk over the phone, presumably with a 911 dispatcher, claiming the street vendor is harassing her and verbally abusing her.
'Go Back to Mexico'
"I'm so sorry that these people are your family," the woman says as she attempts to speak to a young boy, a relative of the street vendor standing beside him.
When the vendor points out that the child does not speak English, the woman makes another racist comment. "Then why is he here in the United States?" she says.
When the vendor reiterates the same question to her, she replies, "My family has been here since the 1700s."
"Go back to your own f**king country," the woman says as she continues to argue with the vendor. "Go back to Mexico."
Watch the full video below:
"The typical white supremacy within Liberal centrism. They care more about the environment than children being put in cages. They care more about animals than humans, they do not understand that for a mexican yes they have to resort to anything to make a living since they aren't allowed to work here legally," Enamorado wrote in the caption of the video. "The consequences of U.S imperialism is showing. Instead of educating people they resort to racism. It always comes out."
Houston BARC Issues Statement Over Video, Confirms Bowerman is No Longer a Volunteer
Towards the end of the video, Enamorado identifies the woman as April Bowerman, a volunteer for the BARC Animal Shelter & Adoptions – an animal shelter in Houston.
After several social media users drew the animal shelter's attention to the video and the racist language used by one of their volunteers. The shelter said the following in a tweeted response:
"BARC in no way condones the language being used in the referenced video. This individual is a now-former foster and volunteer and not an employee of BARC. We were made aware of the video early today and immediately took action. She can no longer volunteer or foster with BARC."
