Funny Portland bakery fires employees for denying black woman service after closing

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GriLtCheeZ

"Well, I'm not lookin' for trouble."
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This is Portlandia level ridiculous.

PORTLAND, Ore. —
Two employees of a bakery in Northeast Portland were fired earlier this month for denying a black woman service because the business had closed.

"Back To Eden Bakery" released several public apologies and statements following the incident, before letting the employees go. In one Facebook post, the bakery's co-owner wrote, "We are doing business in a gentrified neighborhood in a racist city within a racist state of a racist country.”

In one statement, "Back To Eden Bakery" says that according to its own surveillance video, a black woman named "Lillian", who is well known in the area as a "professional equity activist", entered at 9:06 p.m., after the bakery's closing time. Employees had also turned off the "Open" sign, but several customers (all white) who had already ordered were still inside. Two other white women who went to the bakery two minutes before "Lillian", and were also informed that the business was closed for the night.

The bakery says "Lillian" left the store briefly and began recording video.

The bakery's statement says that even though it does not consider the employees to be racist and that they were following the business's protocol of closing at 9 p.m., they were fired because "sometimes impact outweighs intent." The bakery also says in the statement that the way the employees went about denying the woman service, "lacked sensitivity and understanding of the racial implications at work."

In the statement "Back To Eden" says the employees were fired because the woman and the "clamoring public" demanded they be fired.

In one statement, the bakery admitted that the employees did not necessarily do anything wrong, "this is more about how a black woman was made to feel" at the business.

That statements have since been deleted.

http://katu.com/news/local/portland...for-denying-black-woman-service-after-closing
 
I don't watch Portlandia, but if your principles (and your "loyalty" to your employees) can be changed by something like this, I will not patronize your business and I have no sympathy for any economic downturn they have.

I would imagine there are also rules about washing your hands after going to the bathroom and not stealing cash from the till. That need to be followed regardless of whether or not a "professional equity activist" complains about it.
 
Toasting my bread
 
I've no tolerance for people who argue about closing time in a business....anyone who's closed one knows how much work is needed after the customers are gone....it's actually rude to make people work when they're off the clock.

All that needs to be said is:
I'm sorry. We are closed until tomorrow morning when we open at such and such time. Take care and have a wonderful night!

I don't see how any rational person can argue with that.
 
I wonder if I go protest I can get free bakery stuff?
 
I wonder if I go protest I can get free bakery stuff?

Never mind, I don't do vegan.

backtoeden_brunch-lunch_201806.jpg
 
understanding of the racial implications at work."

I suspect those employees were done a service. Sounds like a piss poor place to work, the shorter the time the better.

Funny though, I walked into my local hardware/lumber store yesterday evening just as they were closing the tills. I had no idea it was that late, just after 7:00
One of the guys I know, said you're late! We're closing!

Ooops! See yah tomorrow

"this is more about how a black woman was made to feel" at the business.

This is weird! Why would a black woman feel differently than me when late? Is it the woman part, or the Black part? Perhaps a another option different here?

What is a ""professional equity activist"?
 
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I suspect those employees were done a service. Sounds like a piss poor place to work, the shorter the time the better.

Funny though, I walked into my local hardware/lumber store yesterday evening just as they were closing the tills. I had no idea it was that late, just after 7:00
One of the guys I know, said you're late! We're closing!

Ooops! See yah tomorrow



This is weird! Why would a black woman feel differently than me when late? Is it the woman part, or the Black part? Perhaps a another option different here?

What is a ""professional equity activist"?

Took out the part comparing it to a poster here. Dont do that. Thats not going to be conducive to a healthy dialouge. Thank you.
 
At Portland's 'reparations happy hour,' people of color get $10 and a place to meet

It's been four years since Ta-Nehisi Coates made an exhaustive case for reparations in the pages of The Atlantic.

And on Monday, white Portlanders who agree with the idea had the chance to kick in $10 and buy a drink for a neighbor of color. It was an event billed as a "reparations happy hour" by prominent local activist Cameron Whitten, 27, and hosted by Brown Hope, a nonprofit he co-founded.

The premise was simple: Black, brown and indigenous folks could show up and collect $10 at the door donated by their white neighbors. In total, 40 people attended Monday's event.

"The best part for me was showing up like Portland Oprah and see their eyes light up when I handed them $10," Whitten said. "Because it was about more than that."

The reparations happy hour signified the transformation of an idea that progressive Portlanders support into something tangible for the city's residents of color.

"We do a lot of talking. We do a lot of making excuses," Whitten said. "But how often do we actually recognize and acknowledge someone's suffering? We're so used to being denied any sort of justice that $10 is a respite."

North Portland's Backyard Social hosted the inaugural event for two hours starting at 6 p.m. The next one, Whitten said, will be at the Back to Eden Bakery, where a black woman was kicked out earlier this month by a pair of employees who have since been fired.

That event is scheduled for June 20.

Whitten said the happy hours were borne of "a dire need to connect folks" in an environment that's often hostile to people of color.

"Portland does not feed their spirit," he said.

In fact, the longtime activist, best known for a 55-day hunger strike in front of City Hall to protest housing issues and his presence on the front lines of the many Portland demonstrations during the first year of the Trump administration, recruited seven white allies to fend off possible threats from alt-right groups threatening to disrupt the happy hour.

"We see a lot of folks who want to paint us in a bad light just because black, brown and indigenous people want a safe space," Whitten said.

The happy hour is just one of many events Whitten and Brown Hope are organizing to address inequality across the city. He's finalizing details for another event in August. And fundraising is currently in the works for a $2,000 Brown Hope Prize for an individual or group that promotes the organization's core mission.

"Our goal is to heal from the disease of racism. And we see that happening through deep civic empowerment and through trauma-informed activism," he said.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2018/05/reparations_happy_hour_portland.html
 
At Portland's 'reparations happy hour,' people of color get $10 and a place to meet

It's been four years since Ta-Nehisi Coates made an exhaustive case for reparations in the pages of The Atlantic.

And on Monday, white Portlanders who agree with the idea had the chance to kick in $10 and buy a drink for a neighbor of color. It was an event billed as a "reparations happy hour" by prominent local activist Cameron Whitten, 27, and hosted by Brown Hope, a nonprofit he co-founded.

The premise was simple: Black, brown and indigenous folks could show up and collect $10 at the door donated by their white neighbors. In total, 40 people attended Monday's event.

"The best part for me was showing up like Portland Oprah and see their eyes light up when I handed them $10," Whitten said. "Because it was about more than that."

The reparations happy hour signified the transformation of an idea that progressive Portlanders support into something tangible for the city's residents of color.

"We do a lot of talking. We do a lot of making excuses," Whitten said. "But how often do we actually recognize and acknowledge someone's suffering? We're so used to being denied any sort of justice that $10 is a respite."

North Portland's Backyard Social hosted the inaugural event for two hours starting at 6 p.m. The next one, Whitten said, will be at the Back to Eden Bakery, where a black woman was kicked out earlier this month by a pair of employees who have since been fired.

That event is scheduled for June 20.

Whitten said the happy hours were borne of "a dire need to connect folks" in an environment that's often hostile to people of color.

"Portland does not feed their spirit," he said.

In fact, the longtime activist, best known for a 55-day hunger strike in front of City Hall to protest housing issues and his presence on the front lines of the many Portland demonstrations during the first year of the Trump administration, recruited seven white allies to fend off possible threats from alt-right groups threatening to disrupt the happy hour.

"We see a lot of folks who want to paint us in a bad light just because black, brown and indigenous people want a safe space," Whitten said.

The happy hour is just one of many events Whitten and Brown Hope are organizing to address inequality across the city. He's finalizing details for another event in August. And fundraising is currently in the works for a $2,000 Brown Hope Prize for an individual or group that promotes the organization's core mission.

"Our goal is to heal from the disease of racism. And we see that happening through deep civic empowerment and through trauma-informed activism," he said.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2018/05/reparations_happy_hour_portland.html

Now this quote from the article seems racist to me.

"The best part for me was showing up like Portland Oprah and see their eyes light up when I handed them $10," Whitten said.

It's 10 fucking bucks, no one is going to get that excited over a free drink in a bar.
 
Or they could fix your computer while you posted here at S2 pretending to be at work
 

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