Two black men say they were kicked out of Walmart for wearing protective masks

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A police department in Illinois is under fire after an officer was filmed escorting a pair of black men out of a Walmart who were wearing masks to safeguard themselves against the coronavirus. 

Jemon Best, of Belleville, posted the video to Youtube - under the alias Halo Dale - after he and Diangelo Jackson, of Wood River, experienced the 'terrifying' ordeal at the Wood River Walmart.

In the brief clip, both Best and Jackson can be seen with their masks partially removed as they walk through the store. The officer had instructed the pair to take the masks off, the Telegraph reports.

'This officer behind us just followed us in the store,' Best states in the video. 'He just followed us from outside and told us that we can not wear masks...'

'There is a presidential order, there is a state order and he is following us right out of the store.'

Best shares that the officer also told him that he couldn't film the altercation on his phone, but did tell the duo that his body-camera was collecting footage

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Tracy Jan
@TracyJan

NEW: Two black men say they were kicked out of Walmart for wearing protective masks. Others worry it will happen to them.

Wellesley professor @M_P_Jeffries: “Black folks can’t even wear hooded sweatshirts without being accused of being criminals.”

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Kip Diggs, a Nashville entrepreneur: “As an African American man, I have to be cognizant of the things I do and where I go, so appearances matter. I have pink, lime green, Carolina blue so I don’t look menacing. I want to take a lot of that stigma and risk out as best I can.”

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Rev. Cory Anderson in Little Rock:
“At one point I looked in my car mirror and I had the mask on, which was black, and a hoodie on, which was black, and I thought, ‘Okay, this is not necessarily a good look.’” He removed his hood “because it felt like it was too much.”

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