[CrimsonTide4]

taken from BET.com

Denny's Faces Racism Charges -- Again
By Alex P. Kellogg, BET.com Staff Writer

Posted June 19, 2003 -- Once again Denny's is being accused of racism, this time by a Black Florida Highway Patrol trooper who says a restaurant employee put a toy pig in her food and then called her a "Black pig."

Barbara Levy filed suit against the Denny's in Ocala, FL, this month, alleging that a toy pig was put on her plate that imitated defecation when squeezed. Levy, who went to the restaurant with a fellow White trooper and three White county sheriffs, says in her complaint that when she asked the cook why he placed the pig on her plate she was told: "Well, that's what you are, a Black pig."

Denny's Corp. is not named in the suit. Foster, Inc., which owns the Denny's named in the suit, is listed in the complaint. The company has declined to identify the waiter who served Levy or the cook who placed the pig on her plate, but says that both were fired the day after the incident took place.

Former Ocala Mayor E.L. Forster, the president of the company, told the Associated Press that he "took great exception to them sending a pig to an officer's table," but said he did not see any racial connotations to the incident. He also said that every restaurant employee is required to complete Denny's required diversity training.

Denny's began describing itself as a "new company" after settling a series of discrimination lawsuits filed in the early 1990s. The company was accused at the time of making Blacks pay for meals before they ate. To settle the suits, the company dished out $54 million in 1994.

What do you think? How should the Black community respond to this recent incident at Denny's, given the company's past experiences? Should one or two employees' actions reflect poorly on an entire company? Sound off by clicking "Discuss Now."