BOSTON (AP) - A long running New England television show spotlighting local restaurants and food has been taken off air after its CEO mocked the nationwide protests against police brutality on social media.
Boston-based stations WBZ-TV and WSBK-TV said in a statement Sunday that Phantom Gourmet, which first aired in the early 90s, has been placed “on hiatus pending further review.”
Dave Andelman, the show’s CEO and co-host, took jabs at participants of the Black Lives Matter movement in a number of recent posts on his personal Facebook account.
He mockingly called for defunding “potatoes, not police” and suggested Boston restaurants and retailers “offer touchless, curbside looting,” in reference to the violence and destruction that followed a recent downtown protest.
Andelman, who also co-owns the Mendon Twin Drive-In, issued an apology on the Phantom Gourmet’s Facebook page, saying he “made a mistake” and seeks forgiveness.
“I made comments on that page that were inappropriate, hurtful, and wrong regarding the Boston protests,” he said, referring to his personal Facebook page. “I support everyone’s right to free speech and free assembly. I, too, desire racial and social justice. My record of philanthropy and business reflects this.”
Other developments in Massachusetts related to the national debate over police brutality:
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STOP AND FRISK DATA
Boston has released updated data on the number of persons of color stopped and interrogated by police in the streets after a city councilor filed a formal demand seeking the information.
WGBH reports that 70% of the more than 7,000 people stopped by police last year for what it classifies as “field interrogation and observation” were black even though blacks represent less than 25% of city residents.
The station also reported that only 3% of all police stops resulted in a summons issued to a black person last year, compared with 4% for whites. The field interrogations include so-called “stop-and-frisk” tactics that have come under fire nationwide in recent years.
Police had begun releasing the data in 2016 as part of a settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, which had sued for the records to be made public. But the city hasn’t kept the database updated in recent years.
“I think the data confirms what black residents in Boston already know, that certain communities are disproportionately policed,” City Councilor Andrea Campbell, who sought the updated data, told WGBH.
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ASIAN AMERICAN COMMISSION
Several members of Massachusetts’ Asian American Commission are voicing their objection to a controversial statement the state-funded panel issued in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Commissioner Betty King and others said in a statement Saturday that they didn’t agree with the commission’s officials comments, which they said suggests Asians have “some sort of white privilege and are anti-Black.”
State Senator Dean Tran, the state’s first Asian state senator, also separately denounced the commission’s comments, but Boston City Councilor Michelle Wu said she supported it.
Vira Douangmany Cage, the commission’s chairwoman, has said she stands by the statement and that it’s important for Asian Americans to have honest conversations about prejudice.
The commission earlier this month said the Asian Americans need to confront “deep roots of anti-Blackness” in their community and how they benefit from “the ‘model minority’ myth and our historic proximity to white privilege.”
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ASIAN DOCTORS RALLY
South Asian doctors rallied in Boston in support of nationwide protests against police brutality on Sunday.
Two associations supporting Pakistani and Indian physicians in New England organized the gathering outside the downtown Boston Public Library as part of the “White Coats for Black Lives” movement.
Doctors said they want to be part of the fight for racial justice and against police brutality.
Hundreds of people also attended a prayer vigil Sunday on the Boston Common that was sponsored by former New England Patriots player Ben Watson and other organizations.
Other vigils and smaller demonstrations also took place throughout the state on Sunday.
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