• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, June 3, 2020

You may have read about a racist incident in New York’s Central Park that occurred around the time that a Minneapolis Cop caused the death of an African-American man by planting a knee on his neck for nearly nine minutes. 

The man in Central Park, Christian Cooper, is an Omnicom employee, an African-American and an avid birder. On Memorial Day he was birding in a section of the park known as The Ramble when he encountered a white woman with her dog which was unleashed in violation of park Rules. 

Cooper asked the woman to leash her dog. She not only refused but called 911 to report that she was being harassed and threatened by an African-American and to send the cops quick. He wasn’t doing anything of the kind. You can read more about incident here in a New York Times piece. 

Cooper videoed the entire incident on his phone, and his sister Melody posted it on twitter where it has been viewed 44 million times and counting. 

The woman, Amy Cooper (no relation) has since apologized for her behavior and been fired from her job. 

It’s another sad commentary on the racism that exists in this country. I’m only glad that in this instance no one was physically injured although in her seeming hysteria the video appears to show that Amy Cooper gave her dog a pretty good choking as she yanked on its collar. 

Anyway earlier this week Omnicom CEO John Wren issued a memo (as did other holding company CEOs) decrying racism as “tragic and heartbreaking…There is no place in society for hatred and bigotry.” 

Wren wrote that Christian Cooper’s encounter “created important conversations and a deeper awareness and we are proud of the inspiration he has offered to so many throughout the world.”