Black women accused of attacking Asian restaurant hostess claim she used N-word
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY: Three Black women from Texas who were recently seen attacking an NYC restaurant hostess and booked for it, have now claimed that the woman had called the N-word. The attack reportedly took place after the women were questioned about their vaccination cards. The trio has now claimed that the Asian hostess, 24, was the actual aggressor and demanded that she be fired. The women include Kaeita Rankin, 44, her niece Tyonnie Keshay Rankin and Sally Rechelle Lewis, 49.
The attack took place on September 16 at Upper West Side restaurant Carmine's. Restaurant staff soon intervened to protect their co-worker. Restaurants in New York City are required to verify that patrons are vaccinated before allowing them to dine indoors. Following conversations between lawyers for the women and the restaurant, Hawk Newsome, a co-founder of Black Lives Matter NY, said that they are planning to stage a protest next week.
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Texas civil rights lawyer Justin Moore said, "This hostess clearly has some anger management issues and unfortunately her aggression and her violence led to something that three Black women are being punished for."
A Carmine’s hostess was just doing her job & asking for proof of vaccination which is required to eat indoors in #NYC when she was assaulted by 3 Texas women.
— Marco | Voting Rights Now (@nycmarcopolo) September 17, 2021
They were arrested.
Restaurant workers barely make enough to get by. Leave them alone.pic.twitter.com/9FP0Roq5aN
A lawyer for the restaurant, however, denied what the women have accused the hostess of. "Any claim that they were racially profiled is a complete fabrication, disingenuous, and outright irresponsible," the lawyer, Carolyn Richmond, said. The women were arrested with charges of misdemeanor assault and criminal mischief and have been ordered to appear in court on October 5.
Moore said that the hostess 'refused service to these women and got hostile with them'. "The injuries that she received were incurred by her being physically restrained by other staff at Carmine’s after she was called out for racial discrimination, which she took offense to." The lawyer said that someone, who has not yet been clearly identified, called the women the N-word as they were leaving and that the hostess was the aggressor who 'lunged' at Rankin. "The hostess is apparently poorly trained to deal with patrols and has obvious issues with black women and has a disregard for women of color," Moore said.
The three women were accused of attacking the restaurant hostess at an Italian restaurant in New York when they were asked to produce proof of whether they have received the jab. Police claimed that their altercation turned ugly after the women began to argue with the hostess about the existence or legitimacy of their Covid-19 documents. The NYPD said the hostess was punched, slapped and her necklace was snapped off after she asked for proof of vaccination. The three women were accused of striking the hostess multiple times. “This turned into a mess. And from there, it’s inexcusable, ridiculous,” Jeffrey Bank, the CEO of Alicart Restaurant Group, said. “We ID for 21-year-olds all the time at the bar. We’ve done training weeks before this talking about the enforcement," he added.