'I am deeply sorry': Couple who confronts San Francisco man for stenciling 'Black Lives Matter' on his own property apologizes
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A San Francisco man said a white couple called the police after they saw him stenciling "Black Lives Matter" in chalk onto his own property.
James Juanillo, who identifies as a person of color, posted a video to Twitter Friday showing his encounter with the man and woman, identified only as Lisa and Robert.
The woman seen in the video, later identified as Lisa Alexander, apologized in a statement Sunday, saying in part, "The last 48 hours has taught me that my actions were those of someone who is not aware of the damage caused by being ignorant and naive to racial inequalities. When I watch the video I am shocked and sad that I behaved the way I did. It was disrespectful to Mr. Juanillo and I am deeply sorry for that."
FULL VIDEO: SF Man says white couple called police for stenciling 'Black Lives Matter' on his property
The video begins with the couple asking Juanillo if he was "defacing private property" moments after he finished writing the phrase on a retaining wall outside of his home.
"If I did live here, and this was my property, this would be absolutely fine? And you don't know if I live here, if this is my property?" Juanillo asked.
Juanillo told ABC7 News, "She thought this was devaluing someone's property. She knew it was chalk, she knew this would wash away in the rain. That leaves only the message to be problematic."
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Alexander then claimed that she knew Juanillo didn't own the property because they "know the person who does live here."
Juanillo encouraged them to call the police if they feel unsafe, which they eventually did.
"The police came and recognized me immediately as a resident of the house and left without getting out of their patrol car. I didn't even show them my ID," Juanillo said.
Brad Gilbertson is one of the owners of the property, and says he doesn't know the couple in the video.
"She just claimed she knew the owner of the house. She doesn't know me. I thought she was out of line," said Gilbertson.
While the woman's identity has not been independently confirmed, makeup subscription service Birchbox responded to Twitter users who identified her as Alexander, CEO of LAFACE Skincare.
"We have not worked with LAFACE for several years and, as a result of the CEO's actions today, have officially cut ties with them," the company said in a statement.
"What she did is polite racism. It's respectable racism. 'Respectfully, sir I don't think you belong here,'" said Juanillo.
Juanillo says he hopes this video helps his community come together against racism.
In her apology Sunday afternoon, Alexander said:
"I want to apologize directly to Mr. Juanillo. There are not enough words to describe how truly sorry I am for being disrespectful to him last Tuesday when I made the decision to question him about what he was doing in front of his home. I should have minded my own business.
The last 48 hours has taught me that my actions were those of someone who is not aware of the damage caused by being ignorant and naive to racial inequalities. When I watch the video I am shocked and sad that I behaved the way I did. It was disrespectful to Mr. Juanillo and I am deeply sorry for that. I did not realize at the time that my actions were racist and have learned a painful lesson. I am taking a hard look at the meaning behind white privilege and am committed to growing from this experience. I would love to have coffee with Mr. Juanillo in our neighborhood so I can apologize in person and share a dialogue where I can continue to learn and grow and be a better person."
Robert Larkin, the man walking alongside Alexander, also issued an apology. The statement read:
"Over the last two days, I have had my eyes opened wide to my own ignorance of racial inequity, and I have thought a lot about my own personal blind spots. I was wrong to question Mr. Juanillo, and I was wrong to call the neighborhood police watch. It was wrong, and I am profoundly sorry for treating him with disrespect.
I have a lot to learn about how racism impacts people in their lives, daily, I have hurt my neighbor. I am full of regret and very sorry. I am hoping to meet with him soon to express my sincere apology and to ask for his forgiveness and guidance in helping me begin the journey towards being a kinder, more thoughtful and sensitive person."
