Authorities say that 37-year-old Tiffany Johnson was jogging in Queens when a white woman approached her and threw a glass bottle at her while calling her the n-word.
“She was so loud and aggressive,” Johnson told ABC7. “She did call me the n-word, and I mean I’m not an n-word, none of us are, but the reality is that this woman felt that she needed me to be that, and I would just say that she needs to look into herself as to why.”
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Johnson was unaware that a passerby was recording the confrontation that happened around noon on Monday, Aug. 17. The video later went viral. She didn’t report the incident until a friend saw the video on social media.
The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is currently investigating it; NYPD officials released a tweet asking for tips to identify the assailant, who is now wanted for assault.
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In the video, the assailant is seen drinking from the bottle before hurling it at Johnson as she jogged past. The bottle breaks against her back; when Johnson turns around, confused, the attacker shrieks, “Get out! Get the f— out!”
The victim said the assault continued even after cameras stopped rolling.
“She followed me up the block,” Johnson said, “was screaming ‘get out of here, go back to Africa… n-word.”
When she asks what the woman’s problem is, her attacker snarls back: “Why aren’t you in Africa, m—-f—- n—-r!”
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Johnson told the New York Daily News that while she jogs daily, she varies her route, and she had never seen the woman before. She said that she wanted to get away from the situation as soon as possible: “My safety was my first concern.”
“We’re really resilient as women,” Johnson said, “We’re soulful. As women of color, we’re deep thinkers. We stick together as women of color. We know that these people exist. We rise above them. We don’t let them drag us down. We just keep moving forward, as I did in that video.”
Johnson said she has received an outpouring of support from many groups, including Black Girls Run.
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