David Weathers, 40, said he has been diagnosed with autism and struggles with his speech. He said he enjoys taking videos to show people his experiences instead of verbalizing them.
"I've been passionate about photojournalism or vlogging on my YouTube channel," Weathers said.
For the first time, Weathers and his brother James visited the Sam Houston Park behind City Hall on Tuesday, where he planned to video the historic homes on display.
While Weathers walked through the park, a man sitting on the steps of another home in front of him shouted for Weathers not to record him. He was briefly on video from a distance.
Video from his phone shows Weathers continuing to walk on the path he was on to the back of a home. He did not capture the man on video again until the man approached Weathers and threw his phone to the ground, physically attacked him, and pepper-sprayed him.
In the video, the man is heard calling Weathers slurs.
"The skin of his knuckles were on my face and neck, and that's after he shouted, 'You better stop recording you (expletive) white boy,'" Weathers explained.
In the video, the man was heard chasing Weathers as he ran to City Hall for help.
City Hall staff called police, and Weathers was checked out by medics but declined to be taken to a hospital.
He said he does not understand why the man acted the way he did.
"I kind of feel embarrassed because my brother wanted to enjoy himself out here," Weathers explained.
The man involved in the attack ran off, according to Weathers.
Houston police said the man remains outstanding and has not been identified.
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