Even today, racism is a serious and painful reality in America. It sometimes shows up in places you’d least expect. For one Black Florida man, a normal day at work turned into something terrifying.
Atlanta Black Star reports, Antavis Johnson, a project manager near Orlando, was going door-to-door to inform residents about upcoming utility upgrades in their neighborhood. It was part of his job. But when he knocked on the last door of the day, things went horribly wrong.
“The wife opened it, and I could tell immediately she was upset. I politely said, ‘I’m so sorry if this isn’t a good time,’” Johnson said. That’s when the woman called for her husband. According to Johnson, the man ran out and began yelling at him before he could even leave the porch.
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“Before I could even step off their porch, he started screaming the N-word at me, yelling, ‘Get off my property! Get out of my neighborhood!’” Johnson said. He filmed the encounter and later posted the video on TikTok. Even as he walked away, the couple followed him, shouting racist insults and threats down the street.
White man: “F-ck you.”
White woman: “That’s right, report me.”
White man: “Get your Black ass out of here, motherf——r, stop listening. Get your Black ass out of here. Get fucked up… Get your f—king ass beat, motherf—ker, get the f—k out of here, record that sh-t, come back together. I’ll f—king hang your a– now.”
White woman: “I hope you show your employers, show your employers, because this is what your employees do.”
White man: “Dumb fucking n—ger, there’s no truth, and get your Black ass the fuck out of here.”
In a second video, Johnson is seen speaking to a police officer. According to him, the officer told him that “no crime was committed.”
[WDSENTExclusive]: #PressPlay This video of a white couple hurling threats and racial remarks at a Black Man they believed to be soliciting in their neighborhood has gone viral on #Facebook. The man’s name is AJ and that he is a project manager for the upgrades in that… pic.twitter.com/lOJtJAzhoU
— Weather Da Storm Entertainment (@WDSENT06) July 31, 2025
“I was terrified for my life,” Johnson said. “I have a 4-year-old daughter to take care of, and since this happened, I haven’t been able to bring myself to go back to work. That fear lives in me now. I never imagined I would be threatened and attacked with hate just for doing my job.”
One comment below the video on Instagram read, “If they’re so comfortable with their hate being recorded, imagine their hate in private…” Another person wrote, “Keep your head up young Black man! Their words can’t determine your path.” Another user expressed astonishment and shock as they wrote, “He threatened to hang a Black Man in 2025. WOW!”
What happened to Antavis Johnson is, sadly, not an isolated case. Across the country, many Black Americans continue to face racism not just in private moments, but in public spaces and even while simply doing their jobs. Incidents like this show that racism isn’t just a thing of the past, it’s still very real and present even in 2025.
These moments often go viral online, but for the people involved, the impact lasts much longer than a news cycle. The emotional toll, the fear, and the trauma stick with them. Racism doesn’t always wear a hood or carry a weapon. Sometimes it looks like a slammed door, a racial slur, or a threat shouted across a quiet neighborhood street. It’s in the silence of bystanders, the shrugs from authorities, and the failure to act when harm is clearly done.
Johnson’s experience is a reminder that while conversations about progress are happening, the work of confronting racism, in all its forms, is far from over.
