The hashtag #IStandWithErica trended on Twitter on Saturday after a black Georgia state lawmaker said she was told to “go back where you came from” as she shopped at a grocery store.
State Rep. Erica Thomas (D), minority vice chairwoman in the Georgia state House, tweeted Friday that she was “verbally assaulted” at the supermarket by a white man who told her she was “a lazy SOB” because she had more than the maximum items to enter an express lane.
Today I was verbally assaulted in the grocery store by a white man who told me I was a lazy SOB and to go back to where I came from bc I had to many items in the express lane. My husband wasn’t there to defend me because he is on Active Duty serving the country I came from USA!
— Erica Thomas (@itsericathomas) July 20, 2019
Thomas recounted the exchange in a Facebook Live video that has since been reposted to Twitter.
"I’m at the grocery store, and I’m in the aisle that says '10 items or less.' Yes, I have 15 items, but I’m nine months pregnant, and I can’t stand up for long," Thomas says in the video through tears. "And this white man comes up to me and says, 'You lazy son of a bitch.'"
"He says, 'You lazy son of a bitch. You need to go back where you came from,'" Thomas continues, adding that she tried to explain that she was pregnant and not lazy. "It hurt me so bad. ... I couldn't get anything out. I could just tell him, 'Please leave me alone.'"
We have a serious problem in this Country when @itsericathomas is subjected to racism in a Cobb County @Publix in front of her daughter. #gapol. #IStandwithErica thank you @RenittaShannon for alerting me and the @NAACPGA. #NoPlaceforHate. pic.twitter.com/hN5HDS4aG9
— Gerald A. Griggs (@AttorneyGriggs) July 20, 2019
Hundreds used the hashtag to show support for Thomas, including actress Patricia Arquette, who tweeted Saturday that the video was “MANDATORY VIEWING” and added that “WE WILL NOT ALLOW THIS CANCER TO GROW.”
MANDATORY VIEWING - NO THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. NO WE WILL NOT ALLOW THIS CANCER TO GROW. NO THIS CANNOT BE NORMALIZED. #IStandwithErica #racism https://t.co/MJeJOpQtwW
— Patricia Arquette (@PattyArquette) July 20, 2019
The now-viral video comes less than a week after President Trump
Donald John TrumpTeachers union launches 0K ad buy calling for education funding in relief bill FDA head pledges 'we will not cut corners' on coronavirus vaccine Let our values drive COVID-19 liability protection MORE attacked a group of minority progressive congresswomen — Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-CortezThe Hill's Campaign Report: LIVE: Trump from Gettysburg | The many unknowns of 2020 | Omar among those facing primary challenges Michelle Obama, Sanders, Kasich to be featured on first night of Democratic convention: report Democratic convention lineup to include Ocasio-Cortez, Clinton, Warren: reports MORE (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar
Ilhan OmarMatt Gaetz, Roger Stone back far-right activist Laura Loomer in congressional bid The Hill's Campaign Report: LIVE: Trump from Gettysburg | The many unknowns of 2020 | Omar among those facing primary challenges 'This already exists': Democrats seize on potential Trump executive order on preexisting conditions MORE (Minn.), Ayanna Pressley
Ayanna PressleyIt's past time to be rid of the legacy of Jesse Helms Minneapolis Star Tribune endorses Ilhan Omar's primary challenger Tlaib wins Michigan Democratic primary MORE (Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib
Rashida Harbi TlaibThe Hill's Campaign Report: LIVE: Trump from Gettysburg | The many unknowns of 2020 | Omar among those facing primary challenges Ethics Committee orders Tlaib to refund campaign ,800 for salary payments HuffPost reporter discusses progressives' successful showing on Tuesday MORE (Mich.) — tweeting Sunday that they should “go back” to their home countries despite the fact that all four are U.S. citizens and only Omar was born outside the U.S.
At a campaign rally in North Carolina on Wednesday, supporters erupted into “send her back” chants targeting Omar after Trump attacked the freshman congresswoman, who came to the U.S. as a Somali refugee when she was a child.
