A Massachusetts cafe has apologized after refusing to serve and calling 911 on an award-winning black journalist in a case of “mistaken identity,” according to reports.
The bizarre incident unfolded after Philip Martin, a seasoned reporter for GBH who retired earlier this year, arrived at Caffè Nero in Cambridge before 5 p.m. on Thursday to meet a fellow journalist, Naomi Kooker, the Boston Globe first reported.
Kooker arrived first, ordered a drink, and was seated at a table. But, when Martin, 71, tried to place his order, the worker behind the counter told him she’d been instructed not to serve him, he recalled.
“I was aghast,” he told Boston.com, “I said, ‘I’m completely confused. Are you mistaking me for someone else?’ And she said, ‘No, it’s you. We have you on videotape.’”…