‘The knife of racial prejudice can cut deep’: Coquitlam mayor comes to aid of man targeted by racism
Posted August 22, 2019 5:48 am.
Last Updated August 22, 2019 5:52 am.
COQUITLAM (NEWS 1130) – Coquitlam’s mayor is coming to the aid of a man being targeted by racism.
Richard Stewart says the organizer of local soccer clinics has been dealing with a bigot because he is black.
Taking to Facebook, Stewart says Robert Birungi and his wife have done “tremendous work,” both in Birungi’s Uganda as well as in the Tri-Cities.
“Unfortunately, someone has put a scar on this tremendous work, someone who is either seriously bigoted, or has some significant mental health issue,” Stewart writes. “But either way, the knife of racial prejudice can cut deep.”
According to Birungi’s wife, Carli Travers, a man drives near where the clinics are being held and shouts a racial slur while her husband is in the midst of volunteering.
“…since the beginning of the summer an individual in our community made it clear that my husband was not welcome, including driving up and down the road shouting ‘out of my park N****’ to my husband and kids in front of all the children,” Travers says in a Facebook post. “He keeps showing his presence and trying to intimidate and knows where we live.”
She says police have been made aware, and have even spoken to the man, but she admits none of this “takes the pain away.”
“My husband has been deeply disheartened by all of this and it pains me that such meaningless hate is around us,” Travers added.
There’s been an outpouring of support on Facebook since Travers posted her account of what happened on Tuesday. A drop-in soccer game was held at Victoria Park on Wednesday afternoon, something Travers asked others to attend to show her husband support.
“Let’s show Robert — and Coquitlam — that racial slurs and prejudice are not our community, and have no place in our community,” Stewart wrote.
