Al Roker is a beloved guy. I mean, I like him. I like him more than I like nearly anyone else on the Today Show. Roker’s personality seems permanently set to “jolly” and “kind.” Al Roker is also pretty famous – I would assume that most New Yorkers would know Al Roker on sight. But not one taxi driver in NYC. Al was trying to take his son to a doctor’s appointment and a cab first stopped for Roker, then the driver drove off and picked up another fare further down the road. Roker thinks it’s a racial thing. From his Twitter:
Filed a complaint today after getting passed up again by a NYC Yellow cab. Cabbie picked up a white guy a block away. Wonder why Uber wins?
This happens to folks of color every day. And while most cabbies do their job, there are those ignorant, racist ones who hurt the others
What really hurts, my 13 yr. old boy was with me and asked why the cabbie passed us. I said, “Nick, ignorant people make dumb choices”
Hopefully @nyctaxi weeds out the bad apples. Looking forward to a hearing and dealing with this. I will keep you posted
When trolls and jackasses second-guessed Roker and his story, he responded to some of the tweets as well. To the people saying “oh, it’s wasn’t a racial thing, you’re overreacting,” Roker tweeted: “he pulled up, I reached for the door, took off and went for the guy a block away. He saw me and took off for another fare.” I don’t know you guys… I think he’s telling the truth. Not only did the taxi driver fail to recognize celebrity weatherman Al Roker, but the taxi driver just saw Roker as “some black guy with a kid” and decided to pull up for another (white?) fare. That really sucks. And for all of the people second-guessing Roker’s story or the racial element to it… I sometimes feel like some (white) people don’t understand how exhausting it is to by a person of color in American society. That’s all I’ll say.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
This is why I use Uber. Cab drivers are not the innocent victims people make them out to be.
I have several black friends who live in NYC. Every single one of them uses Uber and they have never had a problem. They are done with taxis and are pro-Uber almost to the point of fanaticism.
And taxi companies wonder why they are losing the war with Uber.
Huber and left are great taxis are expensive smelly and take a long time to get to your house.
uber and lyft are great. taxis are expensive smelly and take a long time to get to your house.
1955 or 2015? Shameful!
Holly crap that happened to a friend of mine. She’s a light skinned Black lady and at that time she had blonde hair. She went to hail a cab and the cab slowed down as if he was about to pull over for her. Once he got closer and realized she was a Black lady with blonde hair he sped up and stopped for the White man further down.
This is why it’s like a catch 22. We shouldn’t hold ill feelings towards foreigners from the countries that most NY cab drivers are from but yet they feel they have the right to be prejudiced or racist against Black Americans.
I have seen and heard on many occasions when cab drivers have told Blacks that they don’t go to Brooklyn.
So f*cking gross.
Remember to trot out this example next time we have a thread full of people who misunderstand the word “privilege”.
I was reading some article on CNN (I think it was about the protests at Mizzou), and someone in the comments actually said that the phrase and idea of ‘white privilege’ is racist. I had to remove myself from life for a few hours. How do you respond to something like that?
I was in New York recently and white cab drivers aren’t that common. Most of these racist taxi drivers are people of color. Sadly black people are treated like dirt by people of all races. This idea that all races feel like they’re superior to blacks is sickening.
I wouldn’t call “white privilege” racist but it is an ignorant term. Millions of white people live in poverty and struggle to get jobs because they’re dismissed as white trash. They also experience a lot of harassment at the hands of the police. There are many whites who are so poorly educated and who are so obviously lower class that they struggle to improve their circumstances. Economic privilege is a real thing. But it’s ignorant to assume that white people can’t face discrimination. Although it is often the case the people doing the discriminating are fellow white people.
@Emma – I don’t think anyone is saying “White Privilege” is a constant (i.e. existing for all white people 100% of the time). Being from suburban Ohio and experiencing rural Ohio and parts of Appalachia, which is extremely poor and white, I’m perfectly aware that I am privileged in many ways that those residents are not. However, it does not negate white privilege as a societal concept. And yes, white privilege can intersect with economic and/or class privilege. There are layers at which privilege exists based upon multiple aspects to one’s identity: race, wealth/class, sexuality, gender, etc.
@Emma
Yes there are whites that are discriminated against because of their class classification but let’s not pretend it’s anything close to what Blacks experience. These discriminated against Whites still have some form of White privilege. These so called White Trash people you refer to don’t normally get followed around in stores because of the privilege of being White. They are not always looked over when needing assistance in a place of business. Or if a person ask them if they need help it’s not because the store service person is being polite to see if they actually need help, they are asking them as a precaution against stealing. I bet that same White trash person can stick out there hand and hail a cab as oppose to the Black man dressed in a business suit. Let’s talk about the privilege of the government in the form of welfare.
This came under The Clinton Administration and he left it up to the discretion of the state. Let’s look at NY where there is a high population of Blacks who are on social services.
In New York families can receive cash benefits for up to five years (with the possibility of continued assistance in the form of vouchers after that time called Safety Net Assistance). New York requires every adult welfare recipient to participate in a work or training activity as a condition of receiving welfare unless an individual is excused. In short you have to work for us or go to some type of training in order to receive your benefits. Now the training is only about 3 to six months. If you haven’t found paid employment by the time allotted you will have to go to work to whatever job they assign to you such as cleaning office buildings and so on.
Now let’s jump over to a state with very few Blacks such as Idaho, Iowa or Kentucky. The so called White trash (your words, not mine) can get the same government benefits yet all they have to do is sit on the porch and wait for their government checks. They do not have to work for it.
No one is saying Whites don’t face discrimination but they are always privileged.
@Emma, yes white people from all economic strata still benefit from white privilege. Low income white populations face many hardships of their own, but there is also a set of hardships connected specifically to race that they do not face. That is not a value judgement about the problems that they do face, and certainly many economic issues overlap between communities.
I don’t have anything to add to what Tealily, HH, and V4Real said.
Totally believe him. That’s so gross.
Not all cab drivers are racist…so you can’t say “they” as in all of them. There are some who are racist for sure. I’m Indian, and I couldn’t get any taxi to stop for me in NYC a few years ago…I just ended up walking in the rain. There are also Black taxi drivers who also prefer to only pick up white clients. I don’t understand why? Our money is all the same color !
@me
People on this board knows that “they” is just a generalization. Come on now.
Not necessarily. Not everyone gets it. I’ve had to deal with many people who always generalize by saying “oh you know THOSE people”…or “THEY are all alike”. You may not have meant it that way, but others could easily interpret it to mean that.
#notallcabdrivers
They know, nothing on this board has indicated that they don’t, so no need to circle back to, ‘Yeah, but some black people…’.
@me once again come on now; you’re reaching. I’m talking about people on C/B the forum we are on right now know that “they” is just a generalization. There are plenty of intelligent people on here and to say that they don’t know is a slap in the face.
I am willing to bet you that a huge majority of people on this Roker post know that it’s a generalization.
Ugh this is dumb. Yes, as V4Real pointed out, we all understand that “they” is being used as a generalization. Who cares whether it’s *most* cab drivers or *some* cab drivers, the point is that even ONE cab driver who discriminating against PoC is one too many. @me- Sorry but your comment feels like classic derailment.
Last night I used Uber to get across the city to/from my friend’s house because it was pouring rain and cold. I would be irate if I had to stand out in the rain hailing a cab, only to see it pass me by to pick up someone else because of my skin color. Alas, I will never know what that feels like because, PRIVILEGE. White privilege in this scenario is the freedom to not have to worry about a cab passing me by. Conceptually, white privilege is NOT some sort of socioeconomic barometer that measures the level of hardship endured by each class level.
I’m so f*cking tired of our PoC commenters having to explain this over and over again for people who refuse to think critically.
How am I reaching? You think everyone that comments or reads the comments is so intellectual? Come on now. I didn’t say everyone here “wouldn’t know or understand”. I said NOT EVERYONE would. There is a difference. I was just pointing out one small thing. No need for this to turn into something it is not. I have been a victim of racism my whole life and still continue to be. Yes it sucks having to walk in the rain when a cabbie won’t stop for you, but until EVERYONE’s mindset changes, what can we do? Not all cabbie’s are racist. Some are wonderful…let’s not forget that.
@ Kitten – I’m so f*cking tired of our PoC commenters having to explain this over and over again for people who refuse to think critically ” ——— What are you even talking about? How does that relate to my initial post? What on earth is even going on here? How is this “dumb”? I don’t think you even understand what my initial post was about. You need to remember we live in a society where people are continuously lumping groups of people together. If you guys think ALL the readers and commenters here “know better” than you are mistaken. There are plenty of racist people who come here to read comments or post them. I’ve had to listen to words like “go back to your own country” or “you people are all alike” my whole life. We need to change our language, that’s where it all starts. We need to stop generalizing.
@me- To me, your comment seemed like it was nitpicking and losing sight of the original point that’s being discussed here–it seemed like a “dumb” thing to get hung up on…
That being said, I sincerely apologize if I came across as rude. I understand your point about the prevalence of racism, but the subject of this post was not about people being racist towards cab drivers, although I’m sure we can all agree that absolutely happens. I just felt like your comment came across as an attempt to steer the conversation in a different direction under the guise of sanctimony. I apologize if I misunderstood your intention.
@me, Once again here you go. I said there are plenty of intelligent people on here. I didn’t say that everyone on here is intelligent. But then again who are you or me to judge who’s intelligent or not on a gossip page? People can say dumb things but that doesn’t make them dumb, right? I agree with Kitten, you’re trying to derail the real topic by nitpicking a word. Shame on you. No one on this thread said all cabbies are racist but then you go and throw out “Not all cabbie’s are racist. Some are wonderful…let’s not forget that.” as if that is what we are saying. You would have a valid argument if I said ‘they all are racist” but I didn’t say that, did I? So yes, you’re reaching. For me to say all cabbies are racist I would have to point out that there are Black cabbies as well as Hispanics cabbies from other countries as well. Why are you trying to add fuel to an unlit fire?
I don’t know why people don’t believe him. Why would he make it up? I think it happens all the time.
I agree it happens constantly. I’ve wandered separately in mall stores with friends of color. I have watched them not only not get an offer of help at a counter, but be watched suspiciously the entire time. Then, when I would go to the same counter, I would be offered immediate help. Some people either choose to close their eyes, just don’t wish to see the forest through the trees or live in complete la la land. Of course, it is easy to do that when you aren’t the one affected.
Because there is a weird, twisted logic among racists that minorities actually *enjoy* victimhood, oppression, and discrimination. These special morons think that these hardships are all a ruse to gain special benefits, such as equality, fair treatment, etc. Apparently, being systemically oppressed is far better than just having a right to live life as everyone else. Who knew?!
I don’t know why either – he’s hardly the first celebrity to say this happens, and I’m sure for regular people it’s even more common.
Maybe they’ll start again since gentrification has taken hold.
Not only that, one of the heads of a taxi company gave an interview a few years ago where he openly admitted that he told his drivers to racially profile people. He wasn’t the least bit ashamed of what he said. And I know I’m repeating myself but taxis wonder why they are losing the war to Uber and Lyft.
Check out “Mr Cab Driver” from Al’s cousin Lenny Kravitz. Great song.
I was just about to post that too
I remember years ago when Danny Glover had that same experience. So sad to see that over the years nothing has changed.
It also happened to Denzel Washington.
It happens to every black person and some Indians who look black. Without exception.
NEWSFLASH.
It happens in Toronto too. This has been happening for years and years and years.
NEWSFLASH. It happens everywhere.
In general I’m not a huge fan–he seems to have quite an edge under that faux joviality–but I’ll back him up here. That’s terrible and he is a great voice to air this kind of thing in a way that a wider audience can relate to. I’m disappointed he got blow back. If Al Roker can’t say this and be understood/heard, who can?
On a separate note, NY taxi drivers are ruthless. when my husband was in a wheelchair, taxis would blow by us– knowing it’s a pain because I’d have to fold the chair and put it in the trunk. Even when it was snowing/sleeting.
I can see this, and think taxi drivers can be jerks. I live in Atlanta and stopped using taxis a couple of years ago, when I got into the back of a cab and after I told them where I was headed (home, less than 4 miles away in a safe, but quiet neighborhood where they wouldn’t get another fare quickly), I was told to get out. This happened 3 different times on different nights. I’m a woman, white, wasn’t loud and wasn’t intoxicated. They just booted me out because they knew they wouldn’t be able to get enough money out of me.
After strike 3, I said I would never use a taxi again. I started using Uber, despite the fact it cost a lot more at that point. Taxis are the worst, and even with the issues Uber has, I prefer it or Lyft to a rude cabbie who kicks people out of a cab for no reason.
Sad but true, shameful behavior.
I don’t really favor Uber either considering their poor hiring practices, shady business ethics, and negligence in addressing women who file harassment against their drivers for everything from following them back home to calling them days later.
I hate that there is no good alternative. I will say I’ve had good experiences with cabs but I don’t for a second doubt the ignorance others face. Lots of cabbies apparently think a white guy won’t rob you.
This happens every day in NYC. I’m more surprised that this is a new thing for Al and not just par the course. I’m white and used to date a black guy. After going out at night, he would stand away from me on the sidewalk when I hailed the cab so a driver would pick us up. Meanwhile, he was probably wearing a $1,000 Prada suit. The cabbies in NYC are the worst.
Not making light of this as you can see by my post up thread but I have done the same thing.
There have been a time or two when I’m hanging in NYC with my friends I have my white friend hail a cab for me. The running joke is you know a Black person can’t get a cab in NY.
But if one should assume they are all terrorist we are wrong and we are. I’m just saying they don’t like being discriminated against so what makes it ok for them to turn around and do the same thing.
Not disputing his outrage, but I’m a pale green eyed blond, and have been passed by cabbies in nyc…I was also followed by a cop car for the ‘sin’ of walking in Beverly hills…shrug…
It’s really cute the way you feel like you can just shrug off someone’s experience with discrimination. The fact that you’ve had some unpleasant experiences does not negate the fact that people of color are experiencing discrimination and racism on a daily basis. When you are consistently sat in the back of restaurants or followed around retail stores for no other reason than your skin color we can talk, until then keep your snarky comments to yourself
But he wasn’t “passed”. He explained that the cab driver stopped, saw him & then drove a block down to pick someone else up. Totally different then just being passed….
@boredblond
Ok, so this has happened to you once or twice. Think about the Black person that this happens to all the time. Imagine going through this your entire life.
Just so very depressing. Makes me even angrier that aholes out there are doubting his story. Sigh.
The doubters are seriously depression. Twitter and the internet in general seem more toxic than ever, with haters jumping on anything and everything.
Those doubters are showing their true colors.
Stuff like this happens every day. So sad. Those who dismiss his experience are probably guilty of similar behavior.
Obviously not there in this particular situation, but what does happen a lot with cabs in Manhattan is that they don’t want to go where you ask them to go. While illegal, it happens all the time. So, for example, if the doctor’s office was on the East side and the cabbie is at the end of his shift and wants to head North home to the Bronx, then he’d only pick up the fare going in the same direction as how he wants to go. Or another example is if the cabbie knows what a nightmare Eastside traffic is and how he’d then get stuck in it so he won’t go there. This just happened last night only we benefited. He refused one lady, but took us because we were going in the direction he wanted to go.
I think that’s the driver’s prerogative, they’re not obligated to take anyone anywhere if they don’t want to. I live pretty close to a big airport and cabs routinely used to refuse to take me home after business trips because it was too close, meaning the fare would be too small to offset whatever airport surcharges they have to pay. Now they have a “short ride” line so cabs can make the airport trips worth their while.
@Esmom
I don’t know how it works where you live but in NY it is illegal to refuse a fair if you’re a cabbie on the clock. It has happened where people have actually called the dispatch on that driver and the driver was reprimand for it.
It almost happened to me and a few friends who were on our way to a wake in Manhattan. The cab driver was facing north while we were heading south. He told us we should take a cab heading downtown as oppose to taking him because he was on the upper west side and didn’t want to travel back downtown due to traffic. Me and my smart mouth said you can start driving now and stop wasting time sitting here talking about it because we are not getting out of this cab. He gave me the dirtiest look while I sat there with my arms crossed over my chest and said, there’s a cop across the street feel free to tell him you’re not going to drive us. Without another word he drove us to our destination. He’s not allowed to refuse our fair, if he’s on duty, it’s his job. I’m not the only one who has used the police when it comes to cab drivers.
Once you are inside a cab and give your destination they can’t refuse you if it’s within the 5 boroughs. If they do refuse write down their cab number and the driver’s name and driver’s number located inside the cab and remind them of the law which is also posted inside their cabs. If they refuse to take you and you are not up to being as stubborn as I was call 311 and report their ass. That is if you can hail a cab in the first place. Try to never tell a cab driver your destination until you are inside the cab.
V4Real
All true. A lot of people will give the destination before they get in the cab and then the driver can refuse. I’ve never been in the cab and have them try to kick me out. Most times, if I know the destination is inconvenient I’ll do the outside the cab thing as a courtesy to them. But, if it weren’t the law that they can’t refuse you, you’d have a lot more racist situations and cabbies refusing to go where you want them to. Still, my original overall point is that they do refuse fares based on destination; it’s not always about race.
I am white and I had a black clerk at the GAP do the same to me this past weekend. It’s not the first time I have had a black clerk bypass me to help someone who is black. It happens on both sides. Not saying it’s right…just saying it happens.
What? No seriously what? You are somehow trying to say a person who was black didn’t ring you up in line and skipped over you to go to someone else or are you saying that you were browsing and a black checker didn’t run over to help you? Either way this is no way similar to Mr. Roker’s situation at all. A cabbie stopped, saw him and his son and drove up the street to get a white passenger.
Now if this person’s story was reversed and it was a white salesperson and a black customer does the story seem similar. Yes it is a similar situation, but I don’t agree that it happens on both sides at least not any where near equal. The reality is blacks are treated worse than whites in just plain old everyday situations. It is better than it used to be, and more importantly people are talking about it more and the conversation does appear to have some legs and momentum. Kudos to Roker for framing the conversation correctly and doing the right thing. One not saying all cabbies are racist and acknowledging the majority are just hard working people, and two when you have an issue and you are blessed with the time and resources he has you file a proper complaint to rectify the situation. I look forward to his updates on this.
I agree with this. Wrong on all sides.
And right on cue…here come the folks trying to diminish his experience.
alihar999 – stop trolling. white people are not legitimately discriminated against ever, anywhere in the world. sorry – but stop. i’m guessing you’re the type of person who cries “reverse racism” (not a thing you guys…not a thing) when you don’t receive your usual preferential treatment. get over it. people of color are discriminated against in the US in ways you couldn’t fathom.
I was told a few weeks ago here in NYC by this couple that I met, that it is tough for them to get cab drivers to stop for them. I said “WTF? This is 2015 right?” So ridiculous and hurtful.
That has happened to me too especially when people see me with young kids. So I hail a cab, keep the door open while I bring the stroller closer to load my kids. The cabbie can’t drive away with the door open! So it’s not just color. One guy even cursed me out saying “all you Indians are …” so I called him a racist ahole and slammed the door walking away before he could respond. My white hairdresser treated and spoke to me differently from other clients so I left. It happens so often even in NY, and it’s from immigrants!! It sucks.
Oh and when I was pregnant walking slowly a guy pushed me. When I told him not to push, he said “move your fat ass”. I told him “I am pregnant you idiot”. He then talked about my being Turkish so of course I called him a racist prick and that I am not Turkish. His wife was with him so he was quieter after. It depressed me and I felt fat. It’s depressing living in NY sometimes. I would move if it weren’t for my husband’s job.
Sorry to tell you but jerks like that live EVERYWHERE.
Why is it that whenever a black person talks about something bad that has happened to them, it always has to circle back to, ‘Yeah, yeah, but black people are totally racist’? Are they afraid that black people are getting spoiled, sucking up all of that bad treatment and have to be reminded that they’re bad, too? Because black people don’t hear that enough.
“I’m a white person who had the same thing happen to me once 10 years ago and the person who did it to me was black!!!”
Exactly! And you know, it could’ve happened many many times since at the hands of white people, but somehow that slips their memory, I don’t know if that’s intentional or not. Part of me thinks that they think black people are just licking our lips and rubbing our hands together in glee when something bad happens to white people, so they can say, ‘A-HA!’, but here’s the thing: only damaged people like seeing harm come to others, so sorry, but you won’t get that reaction.
The only thing I can think of people getting slightly confused about if when they hear people say, ‘Things won’t change until X starts happening to white people’, but again, here’s the thing: we get no joy out of seeing it happen to white people, but unfortunately, that’s the only thing that can get many people to care. They had the option of cutting this off at the knees before, but they actively chose not to care or to applaud it, so eventually, it’s going to come for you and insert overused quotation.
Take the war on drugs, which was dandy a thing until recently, when the meth and heroin use among white people exploded. Only now are heroin users being referred by police to rehab centres if they turn themselves in. 89% of first-time users of heroin in the last ten years were white and the people who worked on those numbers saying that there’s absolutely a connection. Whites have the resources and respect to sway justice to credit themselves. Not that that’s doing a whole hell of a lot for addicts who aren’t white, but a lot of ‘undesireables’ had to get knocked over before it eventually hit those who have value. People had to wait for swaths of white lives to be destroyed before they re-thought things.
But people of the world: black people aren’t waking up delighting over the possibility of something terrible happening to people who aren’t black, or that black people are incapable of being jerks, so you don’t have to bring up ‘That one time when…’, to get us to rethink the universe.
Just a point for those who don’t live in NYC: the largest proportion of our cab drivers today are Middle Eastern. At the times of prayer, the cabs are lined up all along the block and double parked outside the mosques. There are also South Asian, like Sikhs, and black drivers, some African-born only a few American-born. I never ever see a cab driver who is an American-born white guy–not for decades. So we’re talking about immigrants, which may be surprising since you’d think they wouldn’t discriminate, but they do.
I’m not surprised. Unfortunately blacks don’t only face discrimination from whites.
I am a visible foreigner where I live. Sometimes taxis do not want to deal with me, even though I speak the language, and it gets so annoying.
I knew an African guy once (also a visible foreigner) and we could NEVER get a taxi together. He had to hide around the corner while I waved one down, since my chances were better.
That’s life, man. We all depend on the empathy of strangers.