Futility of “Colorblindness” : Anti-Black Discrimination–Atlas Restaurant Group and Ouzo Bay Restaurant, Baltimore City, Maryland

Introduction

We have to stop tolerating anti-black, discriminatory treatment in the United States. The oft-offered excuse of poor “training” and so-called indefinite leave (??) is unacceptable. If you cannot treat all people fairly and equitably, you should not be allowed to have a business open to the public. Atlas Restaurant Group should have all its alcoholic beverage licenses scrutinized and taken back until they demonstrate fairness and equity.

If Atlas Restaurant Group is so peculiar, the Group should establish a private, members-only club. I do not accept the empty, heartless words of the Atlas Restaurant Group.

---

Author’s Note: In a Baltimore Sun article reporting that the Four Seasons Hotel in Harbor East asked Atlas Restaurant Group to remove the dress code in the Atlas-run restaurants in the same building as the hotel. Alex Smith, co-owner mentioned that he turned away international chef, restaurant owner, and TV celebrity Gordon Ramsay from its restaurant for wearing tennis shoes. Given that Mr. Ramsay is an opinionated man, I wonder what he would say about this horrendous anti-black discrimination.

I consider the story irrelevant because Marcia Grant’s video clearly showed a white family being served with a little boy also wearing athletic clothing.

It is long past time playing games with words and start settlement negotiations with the aggrieved family.

Note 2: Marcia Grant hired legal counsel and has filed a lawsuit. Ms. Grant, her son, and the attorney provided comments about what happened at Ouzo Bay on TMZ.

The attorney for Atlas Restaurant Group issued a combative, vengeful statement, stating that Ms. Grant’s video did not show the whole story–that restaurant staff spent 10 minutes telling her about the dress code. Also, the statement explained that the other white child was wearing shorts from J. Crew, with a link. (Notably, the staff with Ms. Grant at the time at the door did not make that distinction.)

The restaurant’s attorney appears to have been closely monitoring Ms. Grant. The statement asserts that Ms. Grant opened a GoFundMe in her son’s name and then took it down and that she had opened social media accounts in her son’s name.

Nevertheless, these are all minuscule matters, as Ms. Grant or her son did not seek out this treatment. As stated in the main post, a dress code at the waterfront is not practical given that a majority of people are tourists in the area.

In addition, the statement failed to note the extreme wealth and privilege of his clients, Alex and Eric Smith, grandsons to a late billionaire. The Smiths’ family holds substantial property interests in Inner Harbor East where the Atlas Restaurants are located.

Still, the managers involved were fired and the statement admits that Ms. Grant and her son should have been served.

I do not accept the Atlas attorney’s statement. Dissecting clothing demonstrates the looseness of the policy. Such loose policies can lead to people suffering from unjust exclusion. One can only imagine the story that would have been offered without Ms. Grant’s video.

Atlas should get serious about reaching a settlement that appropriately compensates Ms. Grant and her son for what they have unjustly suffered.

---

Anti-Black Discrimination at Ouzo Bay Restaurant, Baltimore–Basis: Dress Code Violation

The Atlas Restaurant Group owns the Ouzo Bay Restaurant in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore City, Maryland. I used to work in this area. It is a tourist destination; people are typically in vacation mode. There are office buildings and apartments located there, too.

White Family, with Athletic Clothing-Wearing Family Member (a Little Boy), Is Seated

Regarding the Ouzo Bay restaurant, a black mother and son entered the restaurant seeking to be seated. The restaurant employee told them that they could not be seated because the little boy had athletic shorts on. In the background, of course, is a white boy in athletic clothing, with his family already being served.

The black family was refused service; this time, however, the horrible treatment was caught on video.

Atlas Restaurant Group and Its Shabby Excuses

The Atlas Restaurant Group dutifully issued a social media release expressing shock and surprise at the shabby, discriminatory treatment. Of course, this treatment that all may view did not reflect the beliefs of the restaurant group, they say.

While dress codes across Atlas properties are the result of ongoing input from customers, in no way are they intended to be discriminatory.

Atlas Restaurant Group statement

I say actions and video demonstrate intent, attitude, and beliefs. The entire statement is dumpster-fire-level trash.

In this case, the manager clearly did not want the black mother and son in the restaurant. He just used the “dress code” as a cover. This is not the first incident of this type. The restaurant group has had issues with its dress codes before.

Despite complaints and previous press coverage, the restaurant group continues to be in business on Baltimore City owned properties.

(The owners of Atlas Restaurant Group are well-established (and wealthy) in Baltimore–perhaps this is the reason for the hands-off treatment.) You would think that the City would have taken action on this. Given the wealth and power of the owners, I am not surprised yet still disappointed with the years of inaction.

Note: On June 26, 2020 Maryland State Senator Jill P. Carter wrote an opinion piece (paywall) in the Baltimore Sun. Sen Carter recalled her experience of being turned away from Atlas Restaurant Group properties because of the dress code.

The Weakness of U.S. Civil Rights Law: The Burden is on the Afflicted to Continuously Fight for Humanity

Father Thomas Merton in his book “Seeds of Destruction (1964),” warned of the weakness of the U.S. civil rights act of 1964—the law did not extend any rights to black people. The law only stated that an aggrieved person that was denied something by a white person had the right to sue. So, a person must be belabored to endure discriminatory treatment and then take additional effort to go to a court to seek redress.

If everytime I want an ice cream soda I have to sue the owner of the drugstore, I think I will probably keep going to the same places in my ghetto. That is what the Negro, until recently, has done. Such laws are without meaning unless they reflect a willingness on the part of white society to implement them.” […] If we have got to the point where the laws are frequently, if not commonly, framed in such a way that they can be easily evaded by a privileged group, then the very structure of our society comes into question.

Father Thomas Merton, page 20, excerpted. Read in full “Letters to a White Liberal”; the insight is excellent.

Black People’s Suffering: We Have to Endure Persistent Discrimination at All Times–Unacceptable

Having been humiliated and turned away from the restaurant, the psychological damage to the mother and son had already been done and remains unaddressed. I feel badly for the little boy, having had to deal with open rejection based on his race during his leisure time.

Black people do not have the opportunity to relax in this society because as soon as you let your guard down, you are exposed more to discrimination and hatred. This is true even during a pandemic and overdue reckoning of racism following the killing of George Floyd.

Conclusion

The solution is clear: do as this mother did video record the behavior and statements at the time they are made.

We must get rid of tipping. The restaurant chain is solely responsible for the payment of salary to its employees; a restaurant patron should have no involvement.

Enthusiastically support restaurants and other businesses that welcome and value the humanity of everyone.

If you are going to have a dress code, you must ensure that it is equitably applied–at all times. The Atlas Restaurant Group’s dress code is far too subjective for this; the video clearly showed inequitable treatment, exposing the black family to humiliation. Any training will be useless at this terrible point.

I have no trust for the Atlas Restaurant Group. I give up on you and your terrible restaurants.

Not one penny will be spent in any of your restaurants. I hope they all close down.

Federal Reserve Board: H.2 Release for Week Ending January 6, 2018; H.4.1 Release (Balance Sheet) for Week Ending January 11, 2018; Two Of Note Items

---

Of Note–

(1) Inhuman, immoral patient dumping a policy result of the present health-care system. At a Maryland teaching hospital, University of Maryland Medical Center, in Baltimore City, the hospital placed a patient on the street with just a hospital gown (in cold weather).

Comment:  This is an inhuman, immoral result of health-care policy. The only cure to ensure that this abhorrent behavior never happens is single-payer health care so that people can concentrate on their health rather than the current system’s focus on “health insurance” company bloat and outlandish executive compensation packages as well as Big Pharma’s shameless profit extraction from people who are ill.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has published a report on this topic, “Patient Dumping.”

(2) The disgusting fig leaf of bias, “colorblindness,” has been removed by the 45th President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump.

[Author’s note: This blog does not use vulgar language in its content, but as the President of the United States of America has used vulgar language in the exercise of his duties, the blog relates the word the President stated.]

U.S. President Donald J. Trump made disparaging remarks, referring to Haiti, El Salvador, and countries in the African continent as “shithole” countries, during a White House meeting on immigration legislation.

[Trump stated in a later tweet that “The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used.” It is unclear what this statement means; however, it is not a condemnation of the reporting as incorrect—which confirms that the reporting is correct. Considering also Trump’s long history of biased comments, the reported comments also fit with his past behavior.]

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Comment:  In the United States, racial bias is couched in an underhanded way–hiding the biased intent (and representing that intent as “colorblind” that results in discrimination anyway. Trump’s comments just erase the disgusting, yet accepted, fig leaf. The removal of the fig leaf bothers people who barely concealed their bias with claims of “colorblindness.”

Now, as a result, his Administration’s policies (and any law he signs) should be reviewed to ensure that they are all fair and equitable.

Separately, as mentioned in a previous post, the culture of the United States includes the bias that Trump expressed. Rev. Thomas Merton wrote about it in his book “Seeds of Destruction” in 1964.

Moreover, the blog has followed the racial discrimination case at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (otherwise known as the Federal Reserve Board)–Artis v. Greenspan Bernanke Yellen.

(For more information on other books on bias in the United States of America, see the recommended reading list on the blog’s sidebar.)

---

The Federal Reserve Board (Board) publishes a weekly digest of its activities on its website. The digest is called the H.2 Release and is published every Thursday. The release for the week ending January 6, 2018, is below.

H.2 Release–Actions of the Board, Its Staff, and the Federal Reserve Banks; Applications and Reports Received

 

Category	Action Taken
Board Operations	Office of Inspector General — 2018 operating and capital budgets. -Approved, December 15, 2017 (A/C)   [Note: This is the reason why the Board’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) is not independent. The Board appoints the IG, and the Board approves, as noted, the OIG’s independently prepared budget.
Regulations and Policies	Rules of Practice for Hearings — final rule to adjust the Board’s maximum civil money penalties for 2018 to account for inflation. -Approved, December 26, 2017 (A/C)   Supervisory Guidance for Large Financial Institutions — publication for comment of proposed guidance describing core principles of effective senior management, the management of business lines, and independent risk management and controls for large financial institutions. -Approved, January 1, 2018
Enforcement	AmBank Holdings, Inc., Davenport, Iowa — written agreement dated February 2, 2012, terminated December 27, 2017. -Announced, January 4, 2018 J.P. Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Limited, Hong Kong, China — determination denying the request by Timothy Fletcher, a former institution-affiliated party, for immediate review of two interlocutory orders issued by the administrative law judge in connection with an enforcement matter. -Approved, December 26, 2017 (A/C)

Federal Reserve Board: Balance Sheet (H.4.1 Release)

The Board publishes data of factors affecting reserve balances. The digest is called the H.4.1 Release, and they are published every Thursday (or the next business day if the publication date falls on a federal holiday). The release for January 11, 2018, is below.

[Note: The blog will cover the line titled “Total Factors Supplying Reserve Funds.”]

H.4.1 Release–Factors Affecting Reserve Balances

Total factors supplying reserve funds (as of January 10, 2018):  $4,493,186 (in millions of dollars). (On September 26, 2007, this amount was $900,473 (in millions of dollars)).

(See the release for further information.)

Barack Obama: The President Nominates Dr. Carla Hayden to be the 14th Librarian of Congress

The President of the United States of America, Barack Obama, nominated Dr. Carla Hayden, chief executive officer, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, Md., to be the 14th Librarian of Congress.

A video introduction for Dr. Hayden follows.

The position of Librarian of Congress has a 10-year term.

Futility of “Colorblindness”: Use of the Word “Thug” Is One of Dehumanization When It Crosses the Color Line

In Baltimore on April 27, 2015, the city police closed the Maryland Transportation Authority’s subway station and bus stop, located close to the Mondawmin Mall. Yet, there were many students and other travelers coming to that place, a major transit area, to go home or other places. The people were stuck in that place without being able to leave. An incident occurred, with property damage.

However, on the same day, was the funeral for Mr. Freddie Gray, who died of injuries sustained while in police custody (the specifics of which is being investigated as of the date of this post). The incident was seen as a result of frustration for the lack of answers for the death of Mr. Gray, but it seems that the incident was separate from Mr. Gray and a direct result of police blocking transit passengers from getting to their buses and subway trains.

An issue has developed as to how the incident is being characterized, namely by the use of the word “thug.” W.E.B. Du Bois in “The Souls of Black Folk” had written about the color line, the very different perceptions of life (and context applied to words) between members of the White society and the non-White societies.

The long history and continuing practice of Black subjugation and dehumanization does not permit for any ambiguity in words, such as for the word thug, once used liberally to discuss the incident in Baltimore on April 27. The situation was already charged with all of the events going on in the city before, on, and after that particular day. It is preferable to deal with the property damage and those that caused it with dispassion, just like the persons with authority have asked people to do while investigating police action around Mr. Gray, which lead to his death.

More specifically, the people causing the damage should be dealt with as human beings that made a wrong decision and allow them to have the ability for redemption and to repair the damage caused to other’s property and to themselves. Careless use of the dehumanizing words like thug needlessly inflame passions and continue to demonstrate the United States’ systemic dehumanization of non-White people.

While condemning others for undesirable acting out of frustration, several politicians conducted themselves in a similar way by generous denial of humanity to people that they criticized.

• President Barack Obama, April 28, 2015, statement (bold by the blog author): “My understanding is, is you’ve got some of the same organizers now going back into these communities to try to clean up in the aftermath of a handful of criminals and thugs who tore up the place.  What they were doing, what those community leaders and clergy and others were doing, that is a statement.  That’s the kind of organizing that needs to take place if we’re going to tackle this problem.  And they deserve credit for it, and we should be lifting them up.” (Use of the word defended by the White House, April 29, 2015. Of note, Josh Earnest, the President’s press secretary, suggested the dictionary definition, but with the color-line area in the United States of America, clarity, and universally acceptable definitions is far more important. If the White House cannot accept a differing perspective on this issue, one can imagine the uphill battle necessary to change a social structure causing so many to suffer because of not belonging to the social majority group in the United States.)
• Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake used the word but later clarified her remarks (in sum, treating those that committed errors as human beings).

A member of the Baltimore City Council, Carl Stokes, disagreed with a CNN’s Erin Burnett, stating that thug is shorthand for the N word. (Author’s note: Differing underlying worldviews of Stokes and Burnett are on display in this short interaction. Conflict over definition also lead to an odd situation of CNN personality, Ashleigh Banfield (White), trying to tell a Black person, Mr. Stokes, why use of the N word is wrong (when it is solely applied to Black people)). It is the reason why mere dictionary definition of the word thug is insufficient for the understanding needed for true equality to be placed in practice.)