Leona Lewis and her dad: racism at UK shop

[WifeLuver]

Racism is alive in the United Kingdom. John Lennon wasn't kidding about "racist Britain."

Leona Lewis & Her Dad Joe

Biracial British pop star Leona Lewis was shopping with her black Guyanese-born father, Joe, in London's trendy when they were told to leave a shop because of their race. The episode affected Leona deeply, and she's emotional when she speaks about it now for the very first time.

"I went into a shop while my dad waited outside because he was on the phone," she says. "I picked out a few photo frames, put them on the side to buy them and asked the lady who worked there about some other stuff in the shop. She was incredibly stand-offish with me and I couldn't understand why. I went up to the till and, at that point, my dad came in and started looking around. He picked something up and said, 'What about this?' I asked how much it was, but the woman told us to get out of the shop. I just couldn't believe what I was hearing and said, 'Excuse me?' She said, 'Get out of my store right now.'"

"I looked at her and asked, 'Are you joking?' She said, 'No, I want both of you to remove yourselves from my store.' I asked her what she meant, and why, and she said, 'I don't like the look of him.'"

"Pointing at my dad, she said, 'I want him to go right now.' Stunned, I asked her, 'What do you mean, you don't like the look of him?' She said, 'You know exactly what I mean. He's been standing outside my shop and I want him to go. I know why you're coming in here.'

"She was implying that we were trying to steal stuff. She came up to my face, this close." Leona holds her hand a few inches from her face. "She was so loud, shouting, 'Get out right now or I'm going to call the police.'"

"It was so shocking and disgusting. I couldn't believe someone was shouting at me in front of so many people. I can't stand confrontation anyway, but she was so rude. I completely lost it. I was crying and bawling. My dad said, 'Come on, let's go.' I said, "No. I'm not going. I'm going to call the police. This is racism."

"I was so angry. My dad had to drag me out of the shop. Afterwards, I sat in the car for ten minutes and was so upset. My dad was trying to calm me down but I was furious. What happened was awful - absolutely awful."

"I'd never experienced anything like that, and I would never wish anyone else to. Being judged by the colour of your skin is horrible. My dad is really laid-back. He said, 'Don't worry about it. I've experienced stuff like that many times, especially when I was younger, so don't be upset for me. I'm fine.'"

Source: Mail Online

Other Sources:

Lewis banned from shop over skin colour - Digital Spy

Leona Lewis Race Row - News of the World

Racist ordeal for Leona Lewis as she and her father are ordered out of London shop for being black - mirror.co.uk

 

[WifeLuver]

In 1993 Lawrence, a black man, was stabbed to death by a gang of racist white youths in London, England, UK. A botched police investigation of the murder and a failure to bring Lawrence's killers to justice resulted in a massive public outcry throughout the U.K.

 

[blackcocklover29]

Just because Black people in England commit a disproportionate number of violent crimes does not mean that ALL Black people are criminals.

That woman is evil.

 

[blackcocklover29]

My white mother was stabbed to death by Black people in a bar in South Africa, who shouted 'get the white bitch' before they killed her. i was just 3 years of age. Now, even though that happened, I know that not all South African Black people are bad. In fact, most of them are wonderful people.

The same can be said for the British. There are plenty of racists there, just like there are in Africa, but the British are great people in the main.

 

[1 wonder]

wife lover ..what is your point...why come to a site like this where as far as i see..there is no racisam.....and you seem to be trying to stir it up...

 

[Leon BBC]

What's the point, WifeLuver? There's racism in the UK??? Wow, and I thought they'd cured it over there. Gimme a break.

 

[_Mark_]

Racism exists wherever races meet.

Some races integrate better than others and the ironic thing is that black people have integrated better than others when coming to Britain. Having "gangsta" icons for them and the wiggers to aspire to doesn't help. Nor does a generally apathetic, selfish society and a far too lenient judicial system that does little to discourage violent crime.

 

[necoule]

In 1993 Lawrence, a black man, was stabbed to death by a gang of racist white youths in London, England, UK. A botched police investigation of the murder and a failure to bring Lawrence's killers to justice resulted in a massive public outcry throughout the U.K.

Massive public outcry,hmmm, you said it right there.

 

[mhall]

WifeLuver, your posts are getting boring, do you have anything constructive to say, or at least something relevant to the current generation in the UK, the most enlightened and non racist generation in our history ?

 

[blackcocklover29]

Racism does exist in the UK. Two British-born Chinese guys that I used to work with were once convicted for racially abusing a Black woman in the street and actually striking her.

 

[mhall]

Of course it does, racism exists everywhere, in every country and in every street. But living in the past won't change the future.

 

[jaythekid]

non racist? really?

WifeLuver, your posts are getting boring, do you have anything constructive to say, or at least something relevant to the current generation in the UK, the most enlightened and non racist generation in our history ?

Enlightened and Non racist? Have you been watching the UK through the lens of Hollywood by any chance?

 

[gears]

I think racism is alive and well and growing. Now, does that mean that there are hooded lynch mobs tracking down some black boy who whistled at a white woman? Of course not. Those "organized" groups just don't attract the following they once did and they have a stigma associated with them that no one wants attached to them.

Most white people I know don't consider themselves "racist", yet they routinely prejudge other races based solely on their race. Is this wrong? The politically correct answer is, of course, "yes". However, the truth is actually, "no". Black people make it a habit to prejudge other races and each other, but nobody calls them out for it. And, you know what? It's okay.

Every time you hear about something bad that has transpired due to racism against blacks, it's most assuredly due to the standard guilt that has been woven into the fabric of the minds of the types that choose journalism as a career...be it print or broadcast. These people have rarely had any associations with other races in uncontrolled environments. If they've ever been around black people, it's been at some public event where whites were the overwhelming majority. These people have never been to a movie theater full of black people or to a black club. Black people act differently when they are the majority. The funny thing is that you rarely ever hear anything in the media about a crime that a black or blacks have committed against a white or whites (or any other race, for that matter) strictly due to their race. Yet, the statistics tell us that white people are significantly more likely to be the victim of a violent and/or racist crime committed by black people than vice-versa.

Take the story in the attached link for example. Now, never mind that the site where this story is found is probably an ultra-conservative mouthpiece. I just did a google search about "racist knoxville murders" and this was close to the top, but it is quite detailed and graphic. I know that page is quite a handful for the average DC patron, but breeze through the first few non-bold paragraphs and see what you think. Ask yourselves if you think the national media would have been so deafeningly quiet if the tables had been turned and it were 5 whites doing this to a black college couple.

The Killings of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom

 

[toobad]

Everyone agrees that Leona Lewis and her father were treated unjustly. However, we weren't there. It is entirely possible that the shop owner is losing her store in the current economy (yes it's bad overseas too). It's entirely possible that she has had problems with crime in her neighborhood or that she has been robbed. It's entirely possible that she just caught someone of some "other" ethnic background shoplifting and couldn't stop them. There are always extenuating circumstances. What if it had been a black business woman removing a latino from her shop in Miami?

Remember, we weren't there. No, it's not right. However, it is reality and it's a double edged sword.

 

[mhall]

Enlightened and Non racist? Have you been watching the UK through the lens of Hollywood by any chance?

Absolutely not, I live in the most multi racial area of the UK and I say it as I see it and that is the fact that the younger generation are by far the most non racist of any generation. Their older siblings and parents might not be and you will always get the idiots- of every colour, but racism in the UK these days is more and more about racism within ethnic groups, mainly the caste system which is still alive and well. I am not, for one minute, suggesting there is no racism - there always will be, but you only have to spend a few days in schools, as I do, to see the difference in attitudes that the youngsters have.

To be honest, there is more racism within Asian groups than any White or Black groups.

 

[WifeLuver]

The Brits are also racist against other white folks such as the Scottish, Irish and Welsh.

BBC Reports British Racism Against Welsh Speakers Still Strong

BBC Reports British racism and intolerance against Welsh speakers is still strong with the story of two Welsh ladies confronted by an aggressive English storekeeper on the Isle Of Wright. The storekeeper demanded the ladies who were speaking in Welsh to speak in English, she then ordered them out of the shop.

 

[mhall]

The Brits are also racist against other white folks such as the Scottish, Irish and Welsh.

BBC Reports British Racism Against Welsh Speakers Still Strong

BBC Reports British racism and intolerance against Welsh speakers is still strong with the story of two Welsh ladies confronted by an aggressive English storekeeper on the Isle Of Wright. The storekeeper demanded the ladies who were speaking in Welsh to speak in English, she then ordered them out of the shop.

Ignoring your ignorance of what a "Brit" is, your description is not of a racist incident, but an ignorance incident. I would also add that any English speaking person will experience just what you describe in Wales as a matter of course - its not racist at all, just a pride in language, which will always have a backlash somewhere

 

[necoule]

Wifeluver,where are you from?,coz i wanna move there.I am of course assuming that wherever your from is free from any incidents of racism or other kinds of friction of any kind,please tell me where this brand of Utopia exists ?.

 

[niteflyerbbc]

Let us realize that what happens around us
is largely outside our control, but that the way
we choose to react to it is inside our control.

Racism exist everywhere some of it is subtle and some not so subtle.
You can't get anywhere today, if you are still mired down in yesterday.

 

[muleman]

Face it all this proves is there are idiots all over the world that are racist fucking morons