Veteran looks to start conversation with Tony’s Good Samaritan

A Gastonia man is searching for a brother-in-arms who took a chance last week during a heated protest at Tony's Ice Cream in Gastonia and helped him defuse a tense situation.

Now, Steven Davidson, an Ashbrook High graduate and former soldier, said he hopes to find that man, shake his hand once more and continue the conversation.

"Right then, in that moment you had two guys who instantly found common ground in the middle of this chaotic situation," Davidson said. "I just think that's something that needs to be continued and nurtured. Maybe if you have two guys talking publicly we might be able to help."

Davidson, who is Black, said Monday he had pulled into the parking lot at Tony's Ice Cream the evening of July 21, as protesters and counter protesters met outside one of the city's most popular ice cream spots.

The clash came less than 24-hours after 31-year-old Lydia Sturgues-Robinson had been arrested outside the diner on a trespassing charge. She claims she was mistreated by diner staff for wearing a Black Lives Matter button, while the restaurant's ownership has expressed sadness over the episode and said the exchange between Sturgues-Robinson and staff was a misunderstanding.

Davidson said he pulled into the parking lot the following evening and was instantly told by white counter protesters he "wasn't welcome there." He said he initially walked back to his car and started a Facebook Live video when someone told him he should have engaged with the individuals who told him they did not want him there.

"I said why not," Davidson said. "I spoke to one man who said he didn't want any problems, that he'd served this country to protect his freedoms and mine and that's when I told him, hey, I did the same thing."

The ice was broken, Davidson said, and the pair shook hands. The man told him he was simply trying to look out for a business and workers who were just trying to provide for their families.

For his part, Davidson said he was simply trying to understand why someone had told him he wasn't welcome at Tony's that night.

"My grandmother loved Tony's and so did my mom and that place has been a staple for me since I got here in 1998," Davidson said. "I've never encountered any problems, any racism there and I agreed with him that we should be focused on keeping these businesses afloat. So I thought we'd started to establish a line there to talk."

Just then, across the parking lot, Davidson said he heard what sounded like a fight breaking out. Video from the scene shows a white woman holding a silver revolver in the air and then holding the barrel horizontally. Then, Davidson and the man he shook hands with can be seen stepping in to defuse the situation.

Tense moments followed in the days after, including Wednesday when a heavy law enforcement presence ordered protesters to disperse from areas near the ice cream parlor and the Gaston County Courthouse, leading to a wave of at least 11 arrests. Some protesters, including some claiming to be members of the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense, along with counter protesters demonstrated while openly carrying weapons.

Davidson said the episode has taken a heavy toll on him and his family. He said he's been placed on administrative leave at his job, forcing him to commute to Spartanburg, South Carolina, for work and the video from Tuesday night's scene has been taken out of context, he says, by friends and family in his hometown of Mount Airy.

Despite that, he said now is not the moment to disengage over disagreements over big issues.

"I think all everybody is trying to do is make sure they protect their own," Davidson said. "And that's understandable. There's common ground there."

To the man he met last week, Davidson said he wants to say thank you.

"I want him to know that I appreciate him stepping up, putting everything else to the side and seeing nothing but Americans," Davidson said. "That's what we were taught in the military, the way we're bred and I love him for it. I want to say from one brother-in-arms to another that I'd like to sit down and just talk and maybe we can build towards something."

Reach Adam Orr at 704-869-1828 or aorr@gastongazette.com

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