Huge Black Live Matter Protest Outside Of Bumpy's In Schenectady

Hundreds of protesters descended on Bumpy’s Polar Freeze in Schenectady on Sunday amidst allegations of racism and white supremacy.

According to the Daily Gazzette, Bumpy’s owner David Elmendorf, has been accused of sending text messages with racial slurs and comments about him not hiring black people. If the allegations are true, Elmendorf may be practicing discriminatory hiring practices.

Schenectady County’s Attorney General, Chris Gardner, called Elmendorf's comments defamatory, hurtful, and irresponsible. Gardner has asked the State Attorney General to investigate Elmendorf for discriminatory hiring practices.

I caught the live feed on GNN, were Young activists organized yesterday’s protest and they were very vocal about their grievances against Elmendorf. Mikayla Foster, a 21-year-old activist who works with a group called All of Us, helped to organize the protest and led the crowd. Ms. Foster said, “We set this up today to eradicate white supremacy in our home, there is no space for it here. It looks a lot of different ways. I think people get it confused, that the only thing we are fighting against is police brutality, but that’s not the case. We’re fighting against every system that is set up to discredit us, disenfranchise us, dismantle us as a people.“ She went on to say, “we are active and ready to move forward against oppression, against black and brown people dying, against white supremacy - the same white supremacy you see at Bumpy’s over here today”.

The protests were very well organized and peaceful. William Ribas, encouraged Bumpy’s black employees to resign. He promised to find employment for any employee who quit. Protesters also encouraged black employees to leave Bumpy’s. They offered to pay employees to resign and three employees, all black males, walked off. Protesters took up a collection and raised approximately $270 for each of the men.

The demonstrators had an objective to shut Bumpy’s down. They accomplished that mission, at least for Sunday. Bumpy’s was forced to close three hours early. Protest organizers were pleased with the outcome and vowed to continue to fight white supremacy and racial discrimination.

It’s good to know that young people are working to make this country fair and equitable for all citizens. Hopefully Bumpy’s is an exception and not the norm.