Target has announced that it will raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour beginning July 5. The decision makes good on a promise it made three years ago to raise its starting rate to $15 an hour by 2020.
The move will impact over 275,000 employees in its distribution centers and retail stores.
Target’s decision comes after many of America’s larger retailers gave their employees temporary raises for working through the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many of those stores, including Starbucks, Kroger, and Amazon have done away with their pandemic raises over the past few weeks.
On March 25, Target moved its starting wage temporarily to $15 an hour after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Now, it’s made the decision permanent.
In addition to the raise in its starting wage, Target will give a $200 “recognition bonus” to workers on its front lines as well as additional perks including on-demand fitness classes, back up child and family care, free doctor visits, and thermometers.
“Everything we aspire to do and be as a company builds on the central role our team members play in our strategy, their dedication to our purpose and the connection they create with our guests and communities,” CEO Brian Cornell said in a statement.
Target’s decision comes at a time when the Federal minimum wage is woefully behind at just $7.25 an hour and hasn’t been raised since 2009. Currently, 29 states and the District of Columbia have minimum wages above $7.25. Washington D.C.’s is $14 per hour while California and Washington have the highest state minimum wages at $13 per hour.
The $15 minimum wage is a special figure in the fight against poverty in America. In 2012, two hundred fast-food workers walked off the job to demand $15/hr and union rights in New York City, launching the Fight for $15 movement.
Independent, and sometimes Democratic, Senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has been one of the biggest advocates for a $15 minimum wage, having made it a prominent part of his platform for years.
“Just a few short years ago, we were told that raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour was ‘radical.’ But a grassroots movement of millions of workers throughout this country refused to take ‘no’ for an answer,” Sanders said.
“It is not a radical idea to say a job should lift you out of poverty, not keep you in it,” he continued. “The current $7.25 an hour federal minimum wage is a starvation wage. It must be increased to a living wage of $15 an hour.”
Sanders’ call for an increase in the wage brought this one-time radical position to the forefront of Democratic politics when in 2019, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed the Raise the Wage act that would make $15 the new federal minimum wage for all American workers by 2025.
The act still has yet to pass the Republican-controlled White House and Senate, which seems highly unlikely. But, should fortunes change in November, a $15 minimum wage in five years doesn’t seem too far-fetched.
While state and federal legislatures drag their heels when it comes to raising the minimum wage, we can all support the movement by shopping at places that support their employees and the economy at-large by paying fair wages.
So next time you go shopping and have the choice between Walmart — which pays a starting wage of $11 to $12 — or Target, the choice should be pretty clear.
NASCAR’s statement on the matter offered more detail into where the noose was, as it was apparently the garage door pull rope that had been tied like a noose.
NASCAR’s statement on the FBI completing its investigation and what the investigation determined. pic.twitter.com/X8gEFXhqjt
— Wood Brothers Racing (@woodbrothers21) June 23, 2020
Apologies for not knowing who originally created this image, but it has been making the rounds on Twitter and turned out to be correct. You can see in the left photo the rope was in noose form — apparently as a handle — last year and then cut for evidence Sunday. pic.twitter.com/MIrtF3uqtN
Now, while it is good that there was not a noose placed in Wallace’s pit stall as a racist threat by someone within NASCAR, this raises more questions. Namely, why someone would tie a garage pull-rope in the fashion of a noose and why no one that saw it ever thought that should probably be retied in any other way that wouldn’t look like a noose?
The FBI’s report also led to some celebrating from those who theorized it was a false report from Wallace, which NASCAR reporter Jeff Gluck quickly explained was a ridiculous accusation.
The first day of summer 2020 just passed. Flew right by; we hardly noticed it. The season that we’re trained as kids to look forward to all year is finally here. Next, come the Dog Days, then the hot August nights, and then it’s over. Better grab a cocktail or a beer (or a cocktail made with beer!) while you can.
Even if summer 2020 is significantly different than in years past, you deserve to bask in it a little. And these hazy days are perfect for sipping a hazy beer. A cloudy, refreshing brew that just seems to fit late-June like a glove.
Hazy beers aren’t limited to just New England-style IPAs in all of their unfiltered majesty, either. There are also hazy wheat beers, sour beers, pilsners, and even farmhouse ales. Since we’re avowed fans of the style, and plan on spending the summer drinking of them as possible, we figured that we should get picks from the pros. So we asked a handful of bartenders to tell us their go-to hazy beers for summer 2020.
Warpigs makes Foggy Geezer hazy IPA and it doesn’t need to be summer to drink this awesome beer from a rad collaboration between Three Floyd’s and Mikkeller. No mistaking it for any other style. It has a fruity flavor, matched with a clean body and nice hop finish.
Dry Dock Brewing Company — Sour Apricot. One of the first sour beers I ever had in a can. The Apricot flavor and sour notes blend together perfectly for a beer that I can drink all summer long (sour beers are one of my favorite beer styles).
Mikkeller Windy Hill
Sondre Kasin, principal bartender at Cote in New York City
For more flavor, hops, and character Mikkeller Windy Hill Hazy IPA is a really good choice. I can be tricky to find, however, look online and it should be there. A fresh, tropical, and citrus-driven beer that has a lot of character. Summer for me is tropical fruit and this is definitely that!
Perfect Plain Brewing Co.’s Holy Spin. It has bright tropical notes and a velvety mouthfeel. It’s crushable at 7 percent abv, so it will definitely sneak up on you.
When I think of hazy beer, I think of New England Style IPAs… and if we’re talking about NEIPAs, we have to mention Trillium and Tree House breweries. I can’t wait to start traveling again so I can go to the Boston area specifically to go to these breweries. If you’re not traveling yet, I suggest that you find some friends that live in that area, and request that they ship you some Trillium Scaled or Tree House Julius.
Cigar City Brewing Florida Cracker – it has nice orange and lime notes that keep you going back for more during the Florida summer heat. It’s also made here in Tampa, Florida.
Allagash White from Allagash Brewing Company in Maine is a delicious hazy beer for the summer. A traditional Belgian haze that is complex and refreshing. I visited Portland, Maine last summer and I had one of these tasty beers everywhere we went.
Upland Juiced in Time
Sarah Fackler, bartender and manager at Upland Brewing Co. in Bloomington, Indiana
Upland Juiced in Time clocks in at 6.5 percent abv, absolutely dripping with tropical fruit flavors. This one is definitely a favorite amongst my patrons. The hazies have really taken over summer beer. I get requests for these far more than I do for sessions or saisons. Quite the change over the past ten years.
One we have on tap in all our bars at the hotel is Scrimshaw Pilsner. I fell in love with this beer during a tasting and immediately knew it was going on my menu. Scrimshaw is a North Coast California Pilsner that is simply amazing. It is our fastest and most popular beer especially during the summer and for good reason. Scrimshaw is incredibly refreshing, light, and, of course, very flavorful. This is truly a craft beer that has taken off in so many ways and has not fallen into the trap of watered-down mass-produced beer, as so many popular beers tend to do over time.
I took this beer off once on my menu for some or other reason and the immediate cries from our guests made me realize to never do that again, at least for a while! It’s a beer you can drink all summer without trying anything else and its crisp refreshing flavor make it an easy drink in the heat.
HBO Max is slowly giving us more reasons to forget its predecessors ever existed (RIP HBO Go) by dropping a handful of new shows and theatrical releases this month. To recreate the moviegoing experience at home, we’ve got Harriet, Midway, and Last Christmas. To binge something funny, there’s Close Enough and Expecting Amy. And for some more familiar fare, there’s a new season of Room 104 to anticipate.
Here’s everything coming to (and leaving) HBO Max this July.
Harriet (2019)
It’s kind of the perfect time to check out this Cynthia Erivo-starring biopic about famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Though we’re all probably familiar with Tubman’s story on the most basic of levels — she liberated hundreds of slaves through her Underground Railroad and her work as a spy for the Union — the film marks the first time her story is being told in full. And Erivo scored an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of the fearless freedom fighter, which should tell you just how good this movie is.
Close Enough (series premiere)
Jason Mantzoukas, Danielle Brooks, and Kimiko Glenn make up some of the voice cast for this new adult animated comedy landing on HBO Max this month. The show revolves around a millennial couple trying to raise their young daughter in L.A. When their friends — a pair of divorced narcissists — come to stay with them, their life quickly spirals out of control.
HBO Max
Expecting Amy (series premiere)
Comedian Amy Schumer documents her pregnancy journey in this new series for HBO Max. Schumer, who’s known for her give-no-f*cks humor takes the same approach to impending motherhood, unashamedly detailing all the highs and lows of what it’s like prepping for your first child.
Here’s what’s coming to HBO Max this July:
Avail. 7/1 Absolute Power, 1997 The Adventures of Pinocchio, 1996 The Amazing Panda Adventure, 1995 American Graffiti, 1973 (HBO) American History X, 1998 Angels in the Outfield, 1951 Angus, 1995 August Rush, 2007 The Bachelor, 1999 Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero, 1998 Batman and Harley Quinn, 2017 Batman vs. Two-Face, 2017 The Batman vs. Dracula, 2005 Batman: Assault on Arkham, 2014 Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders, 2016 Batman: Under the Red Hood, 2010 Batman: Year One, 2011 Beautiful Creatures, 2013 Beerfest, 2006 The Big Year (Extended Version), 2011 (HBO) Bishop’s Wife 1947 Blade 2, 2002 Blade, 1998 Blade: Trinity, 2004 Blazing Saddles, 1974 Blood Work, 2002 Born to Be Wild, 1995 The Boy Who Could Fly, 1989 Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason, 2004 (HBO) Catch Me If You Can, 2002 Clara’s Heart, 1988 The Conjuring, 2013 Cop Out, 2010 Creepshow, 1982 Death Becomes Her, 1992 (HBO) The Departed, 2006 The Dirty Dozen, 1967 Dirty Harry, 1971 Doc Hollywood, 1991 Dolphin Tale, 2011 Dumb & Dumber, 1994 Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd, 2003 Enemy of the State, 1998 (HBO) The English Patient, 1996 (HBO) The Enforcer, 1976 The Exorcist, 1973 Fantastic Four, 2005 (Extended Version) (HBO) Flags of Our Fathers, 2006 (HBO) Flushed Away, 2006 (HBO) Four Christmases, 2008 Fred Claus, 2007 Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, 1995 Free Willy 3: The Rescue, 1997 Free Willy, 1993 Free Willy: Escape from Pirate’s Cove, 2010 Freedom Fighters: The Ray, 2017 The Gauntlet, 1977 Get Smart, 2008 Good Girls Get High, 2019 Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, 2011 Green Lantern: First Flight, 2009 The Green Pastures, 1936 Grumpier Old Men, 1995 Grumpy Old Men, 1993 A Guy Named Joe, 1943 Heartbreak Ridge, 1986 The Horn Blows at Midnight, 1945 Horrible Bosses, 2011 (Extended Version) (HBO) In Secret, 2014 (HBO) In Time, 2011 (HBO) Inkheart, 2009 Innerspace, 1987 (HBO) Insomnia, 2002 J. Edgar, 2011 Jack Frost, 1998 Jane Eyre, 2011 (HBO) Jeepers Creepers 2, 2003 (HBO) Jeepers Creepers, 2001 (HBO) JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time, 2014 John Q, 2002 (HBO) Journey to the Center of the Earth, 2008 Justice League vs. Teen Titans, 2016 Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, 2010 Justice League: Doom, 2012 Justice League: Gods and Monsters, 2015 Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, 2013 Justice League: The New Frontier, 2008 Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, 2015 Justice League: War, 2014 Kill Bill: Volume 1, 2003 Kill Bill: Volume 2, 2004 Kiss of the Dragon, 2001 (HBO) Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, 2003 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, 2001 The Last Emperor, 1987 (HBO) Last Knights, 2015 (HBO) The Last Samurai, 2003 Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League, 2015 Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash, 2018 Lego DC Super Hero Girls: Super-Villain High, 2018 Lego Justice League: Cosmic Clash, 2016 Lego Justice League: Gotham City Breakout, 2016 The Letter, 2020 (HBO) Life Is Beautiful, 1998 (HBO) Little Big League, 1994 Little Manhattan, 2005 (HBO) Little Nicky, 2000 The Longest Yard, 2005 Loser Leaves Town, 2020 (HBO) Love Don’t Cost a Thing, 2003 Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, 1983 Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, 1985 Magnolia, 1999 (HBO) Malibu’s Most Wanted, 2003 Mars Attacks, 1996 Megamind, 2010 Message In A Bottle, 1999 Michael, 1996 Mickey Blue Eyes, 1999 Money Talks, 1997 Monkey Trouble, 1994 Moonwalk With Me, 2019 APAV Short (HBO) Mr. Nanny, 1993 Munich, 2005 (HBO) Music and Lyrics, 2007 Nancy Drew, 2007 National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, 1989 National Lampoon’s European Vacation, 1985 National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon, 1993 National Lampoon’s Vacation, 1983 Necessary Evil: The Super-Villains of DC Comics, (Documentary Premiere) New Looney Tunes Now and Then, 1995 Orphan, 2009 Osmosis Jones, 2001 Pee-wee’s Big Adventure, 1985 The Polar Express, 2004 Pop Star, 2005 Power, 1986 The Resurrection Of Gavin Stone, 2017 (HBO) Rich and Famous, 1981 The Right Stuff, 1983 Rumor Has It, 2005 Saving Private Ryan, 1998 Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird, 1985 Showgirls, 1995 (HBO) Something to Talk About, 1995 Space Jam, 1996 Spies Like Us, 1985 Star Trek, 2009 Stay, 2005 (HBO) Sudden Impact, 1983 Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, 2018 Superman II, 1981 Superman III, 1983 Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, 1987 Superman Returns, 2006 Superman: Brainiac Attacks, 2006 Superman: The Movie, 1978 Superman: Unbound, 2013 Sweet November, 2001 Take the Lead, 2006 Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny, 2006 Tequila Sunrise, 1988 The Talented Mr. Ripley, 1999 (HBO) Thirteen Ghosts, 2001 Tightrope, 1984 Tom & Jerry: The Movie, 1993 The Towering Inferno, 1974 (HBO) Troy, 2004 True Crime, 1999 Twelve Monkeys, 1995 (HBO) Unforgiven, 1992 Vegas Vacation, 1997 Watchmen (movie), 2009 What’s Your Number?, 2011 (Extended Version) (HBO) The Women, 2008 Wyatt Earp, 1994 Yogi Bear (Movie), 2010 Yours, Mine, and Ours, 2005 Zoetic, 2019 APAV Short (HBO)
Avail. 7/3 Los Futbolismos (Aka The Footballest), 2020 (HBO)
Avail. 7/4 Midway, 2019 (HBO)
Avail. 7/7 Blue Exorcist, Seasons 1 & 2 Your Lie in April, Season 1 91 Days, Season 1
Avail. 7/9 Close Enough, Series Premiere Expecting Amy, Docuseries Premiere
Avail. 7/11 Sesame Street, Season 50 Finale (HBO) Last Christmas, 2019 (HBO)
Avail. 7/13 Foodie Love, Series Premiere (HBO)
Avail. 7/14 Inuyasha, Season 1 Showbiz Kids, Documentary Premiere (HBO)
Leaving 7/31 A Christmas Story, 1983 Analyze This, 1999 Aquamarine, 2006 (HBO) Blood Diamond, 2006 Bowling For Columbine, 2002 (HBO) Boys Don’t Cry, 1999 (HBO) Casino Royale, 1967 (HBO) Casino Royale, 2006 (HBO) Crimson Peak, 2015 (HBO) Final Destination, 2000 For Love Of The Game, 1999 (HBO) Friday the 13th, 2009 Hairspray (Musical Remake), 2007 Hairspray, 1988 Happy Feet, 2006 Intolerable Cruelty, 2003 (HBO) King Arthur (Director’s Cut), 2004 (HBO) Long Shot, 2019 (HBO) Look Away, 2019 (HBO) Mamartuile, 2018 (HBO) Man Of The House, 1995 (HBO) Mildred Pierce 1945 Now, Voyager, 1942 Once Upon A Crime, 1992 (HBO) Pet Semetary, 1989 Presumed Innocent, 1990 Pride and Prejudice, 1940 The Polar Express, 2004 Quantum Of Solace, 2008 (HBO) Recreo, 2019 (HBO) Rio, 2011 (HBO) Rock The Kasbah, 2015 (HBO) Season Of The Witch, 2011 (HBO) She’s Funny That Way, 2015 (HBO) The Goonies, 1985 The Honeymooners, 2005 (HBO) The Island, 2005 (HBO) The Merchant Of Venice, 2004 (HBO) The Neverending Story, 1984 The Predator, 2018 (HBO) The Sun Is Also A Star, 2019 (HBO) The Take, 2016 (HBO) TMNT, 2007 When Harry Met Sally, 1989 X-Men, 2000 (HBO)
NBA players who went abroad at the start of the league’s COVID-19 hiatus were supposed to have returned stateside to join their teams by June 15, according to The Athletic. One player who did not get the opportunity to do that is Denver Nuggets All-Star Nikola Jokic, and per a report, that’s because Jokic tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst of ESPN bring word that Jokic returned to Serbia, and last week, he was tested for the virus that has more than 9 million documented cases worldwide. In a bit of good news, Woj and Windy report that Jokic has been asymptomatic, and that the expectation is that he’ll get the green light to head to Denver soon.
Reporting with @WindhorstESPN: Nuggets star Nikola Jokic tested positive for the coronavirus in Serbia and his return to the U.S. is temporarily delayed. He’s been asymptomatic since testing positive last week. Jokic is expected to be cleared to travel to Denver within a week.
It should be noted that timelines for recovery from COVID-19 vary from person to person, but hopefully Jokic will get the all clear as soon as possible. Earlier in the day, Wojnarowski reported that teams around the league are anticipating a number of positive cases to be identified, as clubs are going to begin testing their players as they begin to report to their home markets.
As The Athletic’s timeline for squads other than the Toronto Raptors laid out, teams will begin reporting to their practice facilities on July 1 and taking flights to Orlando, the site of the bubble league, beginning on July 7.
Noted cinephile Quentin Tarantino needed a considerable amount of funding back when he was shopping The Hateful Eight, thanks to his plan to not only shoot with 70mm film but also retrofit theaters so they could properly project the movie. The iconic director had a specific plan in mind, so he was in for quite the shock when he had a meeting with Universal boss Jeff Shell.
According to a new profile of Shell in the Wall Street Journal, the Universal studio chief decided to pitch Tarantino an entirely different approach to The Hateful Eight, which went over about as well as expected. Tarantino clearly wanted a return to the classic cinema form of shooting and releasing on actual 70mm film, and what he was offered was, well, the exact opposite of that.
Mr. Tarantino, a die-hard cinephile, wanted to release the movie on 70-millimeter theatrical prints that required special projectors for the big screen.
Jeff Shell, at the time the head of the Universal studio, voiced his own pitch. “What if we released it on iPhones?” he said.
“Great,” Mr. Tarantino replied, and stormed out of the meeting.
Ultimately, Tarantino reunited with The Weinstein Company, which plunked down money for the 70mm release only to take a financial hit when The Hateful Eight only brought in $155 million at the box office. And speaking of the theatrical release, Tarantino is still salty after arranging for Hateful Eight to play at the famed Cinerama Dome, which was a huge deal to him growing up in Los Angeles. However, as Tarantino tells it, The Hateful Eight was forced out of the Cinerama Dome by Disney who allegedly threatens to pull Star Wars: The Force Awakens from every Arclight theater if it didn’t bump Tarantino’s movie so the Star Wars movie could play at the Dome for an additional two weeks.
“I would never work (with Disney) in any way, shape or form after what they did to me,” Tarantino said a few months after the incident. “They f—ed me over.”
Eric Andre: Legalize Everything (Netflix stand-up special, Tuesday) — This New Orleans-filmed special shows Eric Andre once again busting through comedic boundaries while taking on the wars on sex, drugs, and… fart jokes? Alright.
Netflix has also dropped many other comedy specials over the past few months, and here are the highlights:
Pete Davidson: Alive From New York — From SNL to a ton of upcoming movies, Pete Davidson’s doing everything, and now, he’s got his very first Netflix original comedy special. Yes, he’s dropping all kinds of unfiltered anecdotes on everything from his SNL-related discomfort to his Louis C.K. beef and Ariana Grande relationship.
Patton Oswalt: I Love Everything — The Emmy and Grammy winning comedian brings his newest comedy special to the streaming giant. Look forward to anecdotes involving a full-scale Millennium Falcon replica and how home buying gets tied to the term “suicide squad.” Stick around for the post-credits bonus, in which Patton introduces another one-hour comedy special, Bob Rubin: Oddities & Rarities.
Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours To Kill — The legendary Jerry Seinfeld has dropped his second Netflix special. Expect him to keep mining everyday life to unveil comedy in the commonplace. Although the title of this special feels Bond-esque, Seinfeld doesn’t disappoint those expecting his trademarked sharp perceptions about everyday life.
Hannah Gadsby: Douglas (Netflix stand-up special) — The newest Netflix comedy special arrives today with Hannah Gadsby following up on Nanette with a second turn named after one of her dogs. Gadsby’s hope was that Douglas would “inspire comedy disobedience,” according to Netflix, and this LA-filmed special promises to upend all expectations.
Marc Maron: End Times Fun — The long-time standup comic, GLOW star, and prolific podcaster unleashes his latest comedy special. Expect Maron’s thoughts on cell phones, vaccinations, and Tumeric. Oh, and he’s definitely talking about his ongoing beef with Marvel movie fans.
Taylor Tomlinson: Quarter-Life Crisis — Taylor Tomlinson has made a high-spirited appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, and Netflix now presents her first comedy special. Over the course of an hour, Tomlinson will discuss how she’s leaving the mistakes of her early 20s behind her (and tell us why why your twenties are not truly “the best years of your life”).
Tom Segura: Ball Hog — This special promises to not be for the faint of heart, and Segura is leaving no target-stone unturned. He tackles emotionally fragile people, arguments with one’s family, up-ending expectations, and he offers some common sense on following dreams, live from a recent performance in Austin, Texas.
Here are a few options elsewhere on TV:
Stargirl (CW, 8:00 p.m.) — Pat confronts Courtney about recruiting issues with the new JSA while Barbara’s stepping out elsewhere in support of Mike.
Dirty John (USA 10:00 p.m.) — The Betty Broderick Story is an irresistibly trashy series that’s even dirtier that last year’s effort. Betty continues to spiral this week, and the train just won’t stop.
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert — John Bolton, Leslie Odom Jr.
The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon — Lin-Manuel Miranda, Kenya Barris, Michael Stipe & Big Red Machine
The Late Late Show With James Corden — Will Ferrell, Billy Porter, Phoebe Bridgers
Late Night With Seth Meyers — Chelsea Handler, Andrew Rannells
A Baltimore restaurant has released a public apology after refusing to serve a black woman and her son because of its dress code. In a video taken of the incident, the boy’s mother, Marcia Grant, clearly points out that while her son, Dallas, wasn’t allowed to be seated, a white child who is wearing a very similar outfit was eating in the restaurant.
The white manager at Ouzo Bay verbally ties himself into knots over why the black child cannot be seated in the restaurant but the white kid —who he can clearly see out the window — was eating with his parents.
The video shows that the black child is wearing athletic shorts, tennis shoes and an Air Jordan T-shirt. The white child, who appears to be just getting up and leaving the table after eating, also has on tennis shoes, an athletic shirt, and blue shorts that may or not be athletic in nature.
“I’m sorry, I would love for you to be able to come back and eat here,” the manager said.
“So you’re telling me my son can’t eat here because he has on athletic stuff?” Grant pushes back.
“No, no, no, just the shorts,” the manager replied. “It is part of our dress code.”
The problem is that the manager is really sticking to his guns and splitting hairs over the two nearly identical outfits. He could have seen the similarities and let them sit down to eat, but he instead refuses service to them when he should have given them the benefit of the doubt.
At that point, it’s nearly impossible not to see his decision as being discriminatory. Especially when he states that the white child’s shirt wasn’t athletic but also admits that he didn’t get a “good look” at the shirt.
Plus, he’s a child. It’s not like his choice of dress is going to disturb other patrons.
“This was not about dress code it was about a black child being treated differently than a white child,” Grant wrote on Instagram. “My 9yo was so hurt to see a white child that looked like one of his friends at school and somehow you adults can not seem to understand that this was not about dress code.”
The restaurant’s parent company, Atlas Restaurant Group, apologized for the incident and said the manager had been placed on indefinite leave. It also immediately changed its dress code so that children 12 and under will not have to adhere to one as long as they are accompanied by a parent.
The incident calls attention to the sometimes not-so-subtle dress codes at bars and restaurants that are aimed at specific ethnic groups. Some places specifically call out baggy clothing, Jordan shoes, flat-bill hats, facial tattoos, and doo-rags.
While others have codes that are ambiguous and allow the door person to make a judgements based on their personal prejudices.
Ouzo Bay’s vague ban on athletic shorts invites the manager to project their own biases on the customers, allowing situations where black patrons are discriminated against and white are allowed to eat.
In the end, the sad news is that a nine-year-old boy had to face the ugly reality of racial inequality in America by seeing it in full view, first-hand. “He’s 9 years old. It was so hard for him. He goes to a school that’s about seventy-percent white,” grant told Black News Network.
“They always teach the kids they are the same,” she added. “It was really hard for Dallas to see a kid that looked like one of his friends at school sit and eat there and he couldn’t.”
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