Who would shout such ugly things at these young girls?
The young ladies of Chesapeake Bay Girl Scout Troop 176 are animal lovers. After seeing pictures and reading about the conditions animals were subjected to at the city animal control facility, they decided to show up to a city meeting to discuss the issue and protest conditions.
The facility is contracted out to A Buddy for Life and they were so unhappy the girls turned up to protest, they started hurling insults at the young women, including racial comments:
The girls were standing outside of the meeting with homemade signs, when they said supporters of the county's animal control vendor, A Buddy for Life, began shouting racially tinged remarks at them.
"They were saying, 'Go back to Baltimore, where you belong,' and they started pointing out me and my sisters," said 13 year old Arianna Spurlock, who is African-American.
Troop leaders pleaded with the adults to stop hurling the racial insults at the girls, some of which was captured on the video below. For their part, the girls say the experience has only made them more resolved to stand up and do the right thing:
"All people have the same rights, so everyone should be treated fairly and the same," Arianna said.
"We, as kids, we always were taught, if you didn't have anything nice to say don't say it at all," Lily said. "They should have done that."
A representative of A Buddy For Life had this to say:
The statement reads in part, "A Buddy for Life, Inc. cannot control the words or actions of citizens that attended that meeting. A Buddy for Life, Inc. does not condone the behavior that was on display after the meeting."
Watch a video of the conflict and an interview with the young ladies (and future leaders) of Troop 176 fro WMAR in Baltimore: