Reverse racism? Georgia store waives $20 refundable fee for non-White patrons, Internet slams their 'hypocrisy'
While several cities in the US have been witnessing pro-Black protests since the brutal death of George Floyd at the hands of the police in Minneapolis in May, there have also been instances where charges of reverse racism have been made. A vintage clothing shop in Georgia has been accused of indulging in racist practices online after it came up with a policy that waived a refundable fee for its customers of color.
Civvies on Broughton in Savannah said in a Facebook post that while it would require its other customers to make a refundable deposit of $20 to book an appointment at the boutique, those of color would be given an exemption. The post was deleted later.
Last week, the store that sells new and ‘recycled’ clothing, announced: “As a mostly white staff with white ownership, we do not feel comfortable upholding a digital and financial barrier which could prevent BIPOC from shopping at our store at this time on top of the limitations already made by online booking.”
It told its potential White customers that they could refuse to pay the deposit amount but would be contacted by a booking manager to “discuss other options” -- the post read, adding: “If you are white and refuse to put down a deposit because you believe our policy is unethical you will not be accepted for an appointment.”
Store takes U-turn in 24 hours
According to a report in WTOC, the store defended the appointment policy on August 9, saying it is the Black, indigenous and other people of color who have been affected the most by poverty and Covid-19 and charging them a refundable deposit would put an extra burden to their shop.
The store also said on Sunday that it hasn’t denied an appointment request to someone who has refused to pay the fee and there is no incident of a White person having been discriminated against. On Monday, the owners of the store posted on Facebook a statement saying: “It was not our intention to act in any way that might be perceived as discriminatory and for that we apologize.”
It added: “Posts were deleted on request of Civvies ownership, not management.”
Complaints filed with labor department
Another local TV channel WJCL quoted Raine Blunk, the manager of the store, to say that some people threatened to take legal action over the fee policy and even moved the Department of Labor.
“Most of the feedback about our decision to waive this refundable deposit is racist because it favors black people, indigenous people and people of color,” Blunk said.
“Obviously it is unfortunate to have thousands of people commenting and messaging us saying that they are going to sue us and have contacted the Department of Labor because this is a violation of their rights. We believe that what we are doing is within the confines of the law.”
The manager defended the policy saying the fee policy was not based on “racial preference” but only aimed to help those “most likely to be affected by a loss of historical equity”.
The store’s apology failed to convince many. More than 1,200 responded to the post made on Monday and some among them said they were not happy yet. “I’m sorry you interpreted what I did negatively’ is not an apology,” one said. “You have only demonstrated that you have learned nothing from this.” Another commented that the fee was flatly “racist” and accused the store of blaming the people for the online ruckus.
One of the comments below the apology read, "The hypocrisy is amazing!!!!!! So much for unity. I'm Jewish and seen a lot and this ranks up there with the stupidity".
Instances of White people facing flak from Blacks have also made headlines in this season of Black Lives Matter protests. In June, a Black man was seen punching a White man in a Macy’s store in Flint Michigan. While the right-wing conservatives slammed the incident, none other than President Donald Trump mocked the BLM protesters asking where were they when such an incident happened.