Tyisha Kazmierczak
A group of black women have filed a $5 million lawsuit against an upscale Virginia steakhouse, claiming they were racially profiled and kicked out of the eatery after a brawl they were not involved in.
Video from the Cork & Bull Chophouse in Chesapeake shows a women in a black ensemble grabbing a woman wearing hot pink by her hair and punching her repeatedly on November 6.
They could then be seen grabbing and shoving each other and knocking over tables before staff members intervene and separate them.
In the aftermath, the group of nine friends claim they were asked to leave – even though, they said, they were not part of the brawling women’s party.
‘I asked why and he responded, saying “because you all like to fight,” and they made us leave and get up in front of all the other patrons in the restaurant,’ Shakoya Holt recounted to WAVY.
She added what was supposed to be a fun outing ‘turned into a night of hurt, embarrassment and humiliation.’
‘We were all put in a negative spotlight in that moment,’ she said. ‘It was all eyes on us, very embarrassing.’
Holt said she and her eight friends were at the restaurant that night to celebrate Friendsgiving and had just ordered drinks when the two other women ‘that had nothing to do with us’ started to fight.
The two women who were fighting were then escorted out of the restaurant, Holt said, but soon restaurant staff asked them to leave as well.
The friend group is now claiming they faced ‘wrongful removal, racial stereotyping, denial of service and verbal assault’ in their civil rights lawsuit, which is seeking $5 million in damages for malicious and reckless conduct, the Virginian-Pilot reports.
The suit, filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia last week, argues that all of the women in their group were dressed in white tops and jeans – making them ‘visibly distinguishable from all other patrons,’ WTKR reports.
It also claims that after police arrived, they confirmed that the women had no involvement in the fight and allowed them to collect their things – at which point they allegedly faced a verbal assault from restaurant employees.
At least one of the women had to be treated medically for stress in the aftermath and others sought out counseling following the incident, the suit claims.
The women have also retained attorney Joyvan Malbon-Griffin to represent them after they were unsatisfied with the restaurant’s lack of response or apology.
‘All nine of these women were treated more harshly than the two people who were actually engaged in the misdemeanor action,’ Malbon-Griffin argued.
‘They have said “Enough is enough and we are not going to take it.”‘
The NAACP Virginia State Conference and NAACP Chesapeake Branch have since declared their solidarity with the women.
‘This incident is a painful reminder that racism remains embedded in our daily lives,’ said Reverend Cozy Bailey, president of NAACP Virginia State Conference.
‘It is unacceptable for anyone to be judged or mistreated based solely on the color of their skin.
‘We must hold establishments accountable when they perpetuate racial stereotypes, and we call on the community to stand in solidarity with these women and demand justice,’ he added.
Many in the community have already held protests outside the restaurant since the women first came forward with their claims of racial discrimination in November, and restaurant owner Robert ‘Brian’ Mullins and his wife, Teresa, have said the restaurant’s reputation and revenue have been substantially damaged in the aftermath.
He claimed in an ‘open letter to all past and future clients’ that ‘numerous threats to the staff were called in, threatening emails were sent and “staged” protests outside the restaurant were coordinated to disrupt our service.’
Mullins also claimed he and his wife ‘spent more than 80 days reviewing surveillance footage’ from the incident, and conducted an internal investigation into their staff member’s actions that night.
‘That review provided overwhelming evidence supporting the decisions made by our team,’ he said, adding that the nine women had been invited for a meeting to discuss the incident, but declined the offer.
Malbon-Griffin, though, claimed that Mullins wanted to have the meeting inside the Cork & Bull – but the women refused to meet there because the restaurant is now a traumatizing place for them.
‘Many of them still have not dined out, even in the holiday season, for fear that the same incident could happen again,’ the lawyer said.
She added that she offered to meet in their stead, but Mullins never responded to the counteroffer.
Now, however, Mullins told the Virginian-Pilot he and his staff ‘are prepared to rebuttal their accusations of racism with many different avenues and to show the actual event as [it] happened during that night’s service.
‘We look forward to having the opportunity to defend ourselves in court, where innuendo and intimidation are subjected to facts and evidence,’ he said.
‘We deny in the strongest possible terms that racism of any kind or type played a role in the decisions made by our staff and we expect a full and complete vindication of their actions.’
Mullins reiterated the message in his open-letter to the community.
‘Those who have known us for more than 40 years know we operate our businesses without regard to race, sex or age, employing hundreds of families,’ he wrote.
‘For our family to be called racist, you do not know us.’
Source: Dailymail.co.uk | Read the Full Story…
