Teh One Who Knocks
05-30-2014, 11:17 AM
By Lydia Warren - The Daily Mail
http://i.imgur.com/d9acVu0.jpg
A woman has claimed that she was told to stop dancing at an African arts festival in Missouri because she is white.
Susan Stone, who performs at St Louis arts festivals dressed in brightly-colored tutus, said she was dancing at the African Arts Festival in Forest Park when a member of staff approached her.
In an interaction that she caught on camera, the man repeatedly told her to sit down before making remarks that were racist, she said.
'This is not the ballerina arts festival, this is not the European arts festival,' he said, according to a video of their conversation. 'It is not the Caucasian arts festival.'
In another video describing the altercation, she said the man threatened her with jail before a guard put one handcuff around her wrist, dragged her away from the dance area and put her on a bus.
'I have been discriminated against because of gender and lots of things but never because I'm white,' she told KMOV.
'They're supposed to be sharing the African culture with everybody. How can you do that if you want someone out? I feel angry because they're missing out on the beauty of everything.'
http://i.imgur.com/zzEsJK2.png
The co-chairman of the event told the news channel that Stone was being disruptive between performances and did not stop when she was asked to.
But he admitted that the employee did not act appropriately.
'That's something that's unacceptable and that's an apology from me because we want everyone to showcase their talents and their abilities,' Jason McNairy told KMOV.
On her YouTube channel, danceoflifedancer, Stone says she has been a dancer for 13 years and has never been treated like she was at the festival.
'The guard... threatens me with jail, threatens me with handcuffs and he puts me in one,' she said. 'He took my stuff - broke some of my stuff - and treated me like a dog.
'He also accused me of having a costume change. This isn't a costume, this is the Dance of Life - which he has to find some meaning of.'
http://i.imgur.com/d9acVu0.jpg
A woman has claimed that she was told to stop dancing at an African arts festival in Missouri because she is white.
Susan Stone, who performs at St Louis arts festivals dressed in brightly-colored tutus, said she was dancing at the African Arts Festival in Forest Park when a member of staff approached her.
In an interaction that she caught on camera, the man repeatedly told her to sit down before making remarks that were racist, she said.
'This is not the ballerina arts festival, this is not the European arts festival,' he said, according to a video of their conversation. 'It is not the Caucasian arts festival.'
In another video describing the altercation, she said the man threatened her with jail before a guard put one handcuff around her wrist, dragged her away from the dance area and put her on a bus.
'I have been discriminated against because of gender and lots of things but never because I'm white,' she told KMOV.
'They're supposed to be sharing the African culture with everybody. How can you do that if you want someone out? I feel angry because they're missing out on the beauty of everything.'
http://i.imgur.com/zzEsJK2.png
The co-chairman of the event told the news channel that Stone was being disruptive between performances and did not stop when she was asked to.
But he admitted that the employee did not act appropriately.
'That's something that's unacceptable and that's an apology from me because we want everyone to showcase their talents and their abilities,' Jason McNairy told KMOV.
On her YouTube channel, danceoflifedancer, Stone says she has been a dancer for 13 years and has never been treated like she was at the festival.
'The guard... threatens me with jail, threatens me with handcuffs and he puts me in one,' she said. 'He took my stuff - broke some of my stuff - and treated me like a dog.
'He also accused me of having a costume change. This isn't a costume, this is the Dance of Life - which he has to find some meaning of.'