'Because You Are Black': Vineyard Bus Driver Skips Rider, Fired

MARTHA'S VINEYARD, MA — Kevin Brooks is a barber who regularly commutes from New Bedford to Martha's Vineyard. Once he gets to the island, he'll take the Route 13 bus from Edgartown to Oak's Bluff.

But on Wednesday, the bus drove right by him. The 'Bus at Capacity' sign wasn't featured on the destination marquee. So when Brooks took an Uber to Oak Bluffs, he asked the bus driver why he kept driving back in Edgartown.

The bus was full, the driver said - and the Martha's Vineyard Transit Authority later confirmed. That wasn't good enough for Brooks, who pressed the driver again.

"Well, it's because you are black," the driver responded, according to a transit authority review of on-board footage.

The driver was fired, the VTA announced in a Thursday statement. And Brooks was left with wondering how this can happen on Martha's Vineyard in 2018.

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"I am from the South," he told the Martha's Vineyard Times. "If I feel racism I deal with it. For the first time in my life I had to swallow it. I’ve never felt more disrespected or belittled in my life. I had trouble sleeping that night.”

Brooks told the Times he didn't believe the driver was racist.

"Maybe he was having a bad day and the wrong thing came out of his mouth. I’m not about any drama at all. I just want to provide for my family. I’m not here for a political debate."

The VTA said it has a "zero tolerance policy for this type of behavior."

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Photo by Dave Copeland, Patch