By Gianno Caldwell
Gianno Caldwell, a political analyst for Fox News, writes that he was kicked out of Paradis Books and Bread for expressing his views on being a conservative black man, to his own table of friends.Jeffery Salter for NY Post
Fox News analyst Gianno Caldwell says he was kicked out of a Miami cafe for discussing politics. Here, he explains to The Post how he was shocked by the intolerance.
The white woman across the restaurant was staring me down, a look of genuine disgust and disdain. It wasn’t, admittedly, the first time in my life I’d gotten this look. I wondered what, if anything, I’d done to deserve it.
I would soon learn she was the owner of the restaurant — and that she was tossing out me and my friends for my conservative beliefs.
On January 21, I’d been invited to Paradis Books and Bread in North Miami, Florida, for breakfast with a few of my new neighbors. I had never been to the restaurant, or even heard of it, but appreciated the opportunity to socialize with neighbors outside of our building.
As I sat at our table, the small group immediately began to pepper me with questions. One asked how I liked working as a political analyst for the Fox News channel. Another asked if I, a young black man, was “really” a conservative. I responded yes and, naturally, told them all about my book, “Taken For Granted, How Conservatism Can Win Back the Americans That Liberalism Failed.” We talked some about my baby brother, Christian, who was murdered on June 24, 2022, in Chicago.
We talked about solutions to violent crime in America, and I started calling out progressive district attorneys and bail reform laws that have created a safety net for criminals. I spoke about my meetings the week before in Washington, DC with members of Congress discussing justice for my brother as well as other victims of violent crime.
All the while we spoke, I regularly looked around the room because, as a public figure, I know people can record me or try to confront — or even attack — me in public spaces. So I am always aware of my surroundings. But I never saw this one coming, this woman with the disgusted glare.
Eventually, she walked up to our table and told me, “I have been listening to your conversation and you are not welcome here.” I was somewhat confused and asked if I’d said something that was triggering to her. She responded no, but then said that we were not “politically aligned.” She felt “uncomfortable” and, since she owned the place, we would have to leave.
The author’s tweet about the incident has garnered more than 1 million views.@giannocaldwell/TwitterAt this point, I was completely shell-shocked. As someone who has received years of guff for being a black conservative, I could not help but wonder: Would she have done this to a white conservative?
What about my comments made her so uncomfortable? Was it me espousing conservative views that she had never heard from a black person? Was it me mentioning God and His place in my life?
I felt I’d fallen victim to a modern-day Jim Crow “law”: That liberals and Democrats feel it’s acceptable to...
