Anthony Gibson enjoys fishing at a pond in Springwater Plantation, his neighborhood in Newnan, Georgia. However, everyone in the neighborhood doesn’t like that. On TikTok, Gibson began to document every time a white person bothered him as he was minding his business while trying to fish.
On July 11, 2023, Gibson was fishing with friends when a white woman, Tanya Petty, came up to the group and informed Gibson that the pond is for “residents only.” Petty also informed Gibson that she would write down his license plate number and report him to the neighborhood authorities.
By the end of that day’s fishing trip, Gibson had been approached four times by white residents questioning his right to fish there.
Background on the incident was shared on Hollywood Unlocked’s Instagram.
Gibson later learned that Petty was fired from her job as a massage therapist at Sea Glass Therapy, an emotional wellness center, because of her actions. That was not his intent.
“I literally wanted people to see what people like me have to go through when they live in a nice neighborhood and people don’t think that they live there,” Gibson told NBC News.
Now, some of Gibson’s neighbors want him to help get Petty her job back. Gibson’s response to NBC News: “I’m not going to help her get her job back. She still hasn’t apologized to me. I haven’t seen her since.”
Gibson started recording videos in 2022 and say that other Black residents of Springwater Plantation have shared their own tales of being harassed. Gibson said a retired army veteran had a bag of dog feces left on his doorstep after telling a white community member to stop letting her dog defecate in his yard.
In other videos of Gibson’s, Black residents have shared stories of unfair treatment they have received while fishing.
Springwater Plantation’s president of the board of directors, Thomas Drolet, said that although the development is racially diverse, there are elements of racism in how some of the residents view other residents. Drolet also stressed that the matter is one the community needs to handle internally.
Unfortunately, all of the incidents seem to have taken a toll on Gibson “ I’m not afraid of anybody,” he said. “But do I want to get out of this house and go fishing and do any of that stuff around here anymore? Hell to the no.”
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