TV station: Allyn D. Gibson made racist Facebook posts in 2016

The son and grandson of the owners of Gibson's Bakery said on Facebook in 2016 that "most black ppl around my area suck," according to news reports detailing recently released evidence that was never presented during a trial more than two years ago. Starting two years ago, WEWS-TV, newspaper publisher and Cleveland.com owner Advance Ohio and the Ohio Coalition for Open Government had requested Lorain County Common Pleas Judge John Miraldi release to the public Facebook posts allegedly belonging to Allyn D. Gibson. They were joined in the request by The Reporters Committee For Freedom of the Press. The Chronicle-Telegram was not party to WEWS-TV's suit. Allyn D. Gibson is the son of late Gibson's Bakery co-owner David Gibson and the grandson of co-owner Allyn W. "Grandpa" Gibson. The recently unsealed exhibit contains Facebook posts Allyn D. Gibson made between 2012 and 2017 about "how he and his family's store were perceived as being racist," WEWS-TV reported on its website. "The posts also go a step further. In April of 2016, Allyn D. Gibson posted on one friend's wall, 'not my fault most black ppl around my area suck,'" the TV station reported. In summer 2016, he wrote about "his frustration over being called racist," WEWS-TV reported in a story posted to its website. The news station also reported Allyn D. Gibson posted the following message on a friend's Facebook wall, with a timestamp of 9:42 p.m. July 28, 2016: "Can't watch it today. But u know slavery has been around in africa since before we were a country … and Africans sold the slaves to the white guys right ... and not all white guys were slave owners … really have to judge people as individuals and not as a group. Not all black people crying wolf deserve anything. Honestly I am 100% fed up with any white black racism anymore. It's all garbage on both sides. We have all had more than enough time and ability to get over this mess. People who still are there deserve to be their because they choose to be there. I wasn't racist ever … but this (expletive) and the way people treat me now because I am 'white' is racist and is making me racist. I don't owe a damn person a damn thing. If these lazy (expletive) want to start working then they could earn their own money. That's what my family does for money … work. Always hired people of every sex and race … so … not our issue. But people spit at me and call me racist at least a few times a month. 100 % of those people deserve to die. (expletive) them all to hell." Allyn D. Gibson was not a plaintiff to his father and grandfather's lawsuit, did not testify, nor was he called to testify at a trial in Lorain County Common Pleas Court in spring 2019 in which his family and their business prevailed. They were awarded more than $30 million in damages and attorney fees from the college. Oberlin College has appealed the verdict, and the Gibsons appealed the proposed monetary judgment, both in the Ninth District Court of Appeals in Akron. Both appeals still are being considered by judges there. "The issues raised by this case have been challenging, not only for the parties involved, but for the entire Oberlin community. While this matter is under appeal, we cannot comment on the specifics of the litigation," Oberlin College President Carmen Twillie Ambar said in a statement released to the media Thursday. "For 187 years, Oberlin College has been dedicated to educating and preparing our students for a complex world. Our institution remains committed to addressing racial tensions, wherever they reside. That is why we created the Presidential Initiative on Racial Equity and Diversity, and why this institution is a leader in the national conversation about how liberal arts colleges can support racial equity on their campuses." A message seeking comment on the release of the materials was sent to a spokesperson for Plakas Mannos, the law firm that represented the Gibsons at trial and is arguing their appeal. In explaining why he was refusing to unseal the exhibit in a ruling last year, Miraldi wrote the material in the exhibit largely predates the incidents leading to the lawsuit, and declined to unseal it. He had previously allowed that the posts could be introduced as character evidence regarding the younger Allyn Gibson, who never took the stand to testify. That Oberlin College attorneys did not attempt to introduce the Facebook posts as evidence ensured they "waived any argument that these materials were admissible," attorneys for the Gibsons said in court documents last year. Allyn D. Gibson was the clerk on duty at his family's store Nov. 9, 2016, when an Oberlin College student tried to use a fake ID and steal wine. Following a confrontation at the counter, he chased the student out of the store and across the street, where he later told police he was assaulted by the student and two others. Oberlin police charged the students with various crimes including theft and assault. Supporters of the students have questioned the official narrative from Oberlin police, saying they took Allyn D. Gibson's word over that of the students as to what occurred. Allyn D. Gibson is white and the students are Black. The arrests led to two days of protests by students and their supporters, who said the bakery was racially profiling students. The bakery's relationship with the college soured, eventually leading to the Gibsons' multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Oberlin College over allegations the college libeled and damaged the business and its reputation. A number of people of color testified on behalf of the Gibsons at the trial, saying they never felt mistreated or profiled by the family while working or shopping there. Oberlin College put on no witnesses who claimed that they had been racially profiled while working or shopping there, and argued that it was protecting students' free speech when dealing with the bakery in the days following the students' arrest. The students later pleaded guilty in court to misdemeanor charges related to the theft and assault and submitted statements in court saying Allyn D. Gibson was within his rights to detain shoplifters and that the incident was not racially motivated.