New York, NY — A white man caught on video harassing his Black neighbor in New York City has recently gone viral on social media, once again sparking outrage from the Black community. Chika Okafor posted the video of the man that social media is calling ‘Hallway Harry’ who kept on insisting that he doesn’t live in the building where he actually has lived since last year.Last Wednesday, Chika, who is a producer for Bleacher Report, shared the story of the confrontation that happened between him and the still-unidentified white man on social media. So far, the video he posted has garnered over a million views.
Okafor was with his friend Cassius Flemming standing in his apartment while waiting for their Lyft when the white man began harassing them, interrogating him where he lives. Flemming recorded a video of the incident.
In the video, the man could be heard saying, “What are you doing in my building? You don’t live here! I’ve been here 27 years!”
“He lives right upstairs,” Flemming responded.
“Then why haven’t I seen you before?!” the man pressed on. The man also demanded to see where his unit is. Okafor, of course, didn’t oblige telling the angry man where he lives.
The man kept on questioning him and even muttering, “Who the f— are these guys.” In the video, he can also be heard claiming that he treats white people the same way and that he doesn’t care if the video goes viral.
The encounter only ended when Okafor and his friend left the building to catch their Lyft ride.
Okafor believes that it was a case of racial profiling. He wrote in his post, “The arrogance is appalling but honestly, not surprising because far too many times people of color have been victims of this kind of behavior.”
Apparently, the man, who was dubbed as “Hallway Harry” by social media users, has also harassed a white family visiting from Hong Kong on the same day. The family seems to be renting a short-term apartment through Airbnb.
Meanwhile, Okafor said their encounter was also the first time he saw the man, though he had lived in the apartment since mid-December last year. He said he doesn’t have anything to say to the man if ever they cross paths again.
“I do think he owes my friend and I an apology for his disrespectful behavior. He should be kicked out,” Okafor told New York Daily News.
“He has no authority to do what he did. You don’t walk up to a complete stranger and start questioning them, expecting them to give you their personal info.”
Watch the live footage below: