Oberlin College students protest local bakery
Students of Oberlin College have taken their frustrations with a local business to the streets for the second day in a row as they protested Gibson’s Food Mart and Bakery Nov. 11.
The incident that sparked the demonstrations occurred at 4:58 p.m. Nov. 9, when officers were dispatched to the bakery, 23 W. College St., for a report of a fight in progress involving a theft from the business, according to a police report.
Responding officers located an employee of the store on his back being punched and kicked by individuals kneeling over him. When officers were able to take control, they had apprehended a female, the report said.
According to the report, the employee and two witnesses advised police that while inside the store Jonathan Aladin, 19, had allegedly tried to conceal two bottles of wine underneath his shirt. When the employee informed Aladin that he was aware of the concealment and that the employee intended to call the police, Aladin attempted to leave.
The employee told police that he attempted to take a photo of Aladin’s face, causing Aladin to strike the employee’s phone, hitting the employee in the face. As the employee attempted to detain Aladin, he became violent; striking and grabbing the employee, the report said.
Aladin was able to escape the employee and left the store, crossing West College Street with two females. The employee gave chase and attempted to detain Aladin once more. The employee told police that Aladin became violent and knocked him to the ground, where Aladin and the two females began punching and kicking him in the head, face and body, at which point police arrived on scene, the report said.
According to the report, while officers were interviewing witnesses a group of individuals stated that the employee was the aggressor and that Aladin had not done anything.
Officers arrested Aladin, as well as the two females; identified as Endia Lawrence, 19, and Cecelia Whettstone, 18.
Aladin has been charged with robbery, and was being held at the Lorain County Jail until he posted bail Nov. 10, according to Oberlin Municipal Court documents.
Lawrence and Whettstone have each been charged with assault, according to Oberlin Municipal Court documents.
Outside of Gibson’s, protesters held signs, danced and chanted various slogans imploring anyone within earshot to boycott the bakery late into the night Nov. 10. When Lawrence and Whettstone were arraigned at Oberlin Municipal Court Nov. 11, the lobby was packed with protesters piled onto low wooden benches watching the proceedings on a flat screen television near the entrance.
After the arraignments, the protesters returned to their posts in front of the bakery.
The protest was organized by the Oberlin College Black Student Union, or Abusua. Many protesters refused give their names.
A statement photocopied onto fliers which protesters handed out to passersby claims that the bakery is a racist establishment and that the employee was the aggressor. It also claims that Aladin, Lawrence and Whettstone were racially profiled on scene and arrested without questioning, being asked their names or being read their rights.
Three women who claimed to be organizers read a prepared statement that said: “We are here because (Nov. 10) three students from the Africana community were assaulted and arrested as a result of a history of racial profiling and racial discrimination by Gibson’s Bakery located 23 W. College St. there is a need for justice to be served to hold Gibson’s accountable for these injustices and patterns of unlawful behavior.”
Chad Smith owns The Cobbler Candle Company, 25 W. College St., which opened next door to the bakery three weeks ago. He said that the protesters hindered people’s ability to enter the store to the point that they were forced to close after only a few hours Nov. 10.
“We literally had to close the door,” he said. “We made zero dollars. A zero dollar day could put us out of business.”
Gibson’s Food Mart and Bakery, Oberlin College and Oberlin police declined to comment.
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