When Louisiana Judge Mike Erwin noticed a man share his seat with a black woman in crowded Baton Rouge, La., establishment Sammys Grill on Feb. 3, he allegedly spewed, You should have made her get her fat nigger ass up.
Kaneitra Johnson, a resident of Baton Rouge, shared her traumatic experience in a public Facebook post that has been shared 183 times to date. She went into even further detail with the Rouge Collection, stating:
Im halfway on the seat and the Lyft driver is on the other half of the seat, Johnson said. Then he asked for his jacket. All of a sudden I hear this older man behind me tell the Lyft driver, You never give up your seat for a n*gger.
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As Johnson and the driver sat side by side, the older man continues, You should have made her get her fat n*gger a** up.
Johnson says that it was only after police arrived on the scene that she learned the racist white man in question was Judge Mike Erwin of Louisianas 19th Judicial District Court, which covers East Baton Rouge.
Neither police officers nor management at Sammys Grill held Ervin accountable in any way for his words at the time, Johnson said on Facebook.
That has since changed, according to Sammys Grill Manager Andy McKay.
I wasnt there that night, so I cant comment on the details, but I know police were called, McKay told The Root. I can also tell you that the owner Sammy Nagem has made it clear that Judge Erwin is no longer welcome here.
We will refuse his business, McKay added.
According to the website for Louisianas 19th District, Erwin was an assistant city prosecutor in Baton Rouge City Court from 1979 to 1981. He then served as an assistant district attorney with the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorneys Office from 1981 to 1990 before his election to the 19th Judicial District Court in 1991.
This means hes had the lives of black men and women in his hands for a very long time. While racism is both covert and overt, if Erwin will call a black woman a nigger in a crowded restaurant, his capacity for institutional, racist violence is vastand he should not be serving on anyones bench.
Calls to both Nagem and Ervin were not returned at the time this article was published. We will update if they respond.
