Good Old SC

[Professor]

Kweisi Mfume Julian Bond
President and Chief Executive Officer Chairman, Board of Directors

IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 27, 2004

FOUR MYRTLE BEACH AREA RESTAURANTS SUED FOR DISCRIMINATION
NAACP and several individual plaintiffs filed federal civil rights lawsuits

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and several individual plaintiffs filed federal civil rights class action lawsuits yesterday against four Myrtle Beach area restaurants. They include Damon's Grill, Greg Norman's Australian Grill, J. Edward's Great Ribs & More and Fleming's. The restaurants are accused of closing over Memorial Day weekend last year when a large number of African-Americans visited Myrtle Beach for the annual "Black Bike Week."

Each May, two large motorcycle rallies are held in Myrtle Beach. In mid-May, thousands of predominately white bikers attend the annual "Harley Week." Over the Memorial Day weekend, a similar motorcycle event, "Black Bike Week," attracts predominately black motorcyclists. The lawsuit charges that treatment of the participants in the two events by local restaurants and businesses is starkly different. The local government, businesses and community leaders welcome the white motorcyclists, but when the black bikers arrive, restaurants close, some hotels implement special oppressive rules, and the city and police purposefully restrict travel in Myrtle Beach. The police triple the number of officers to enforce a one-time "zero tolerance" police aimed at black visitors.

The restaurants identified in the lawsuits were closed during the 2003 "Black Bike Week" despite the fact that the NAACP and individuals filed discrimination complaints with the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission. The complaint alleges the restaurants engaged in a systematic pattern of closing when the predominantly African-American crowd came to town.

NAACP President and CEO, Kweisi Mfume, said: "In this day and age, you would think that business owners realize that discrimination is not just illegal, but also immoral. It's bad for business and bad for America. In Myrtle Beach, these restaurants are clearly not making good business sense. They are in effect reducing profit and losing market share because of their stereotypical and prejudiced attitudes about black people. That kind of discrimination can't hold up in a court of law."

J. Edward Fleming, the owner of both J. Edward's Great Ribs & More and Fleming's, has explicitly expressed disdain for the black patrons who would frequent his restaurants during "Black Bike Week." Fleming continues to close his restaurants, citing traffic issues. However, Fleming regularly keeps his restaurants open during Harley Week and other high-volume, dense traffic times of the year.
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Restaurants

Damon's Grill closed its two locations during "Black Bike Week" for the past eight years. Following discrimination complaints filed with the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission, Greg Norman's Australian Grill is scheduled to open during this year's "Black Bike Week" for the first time since 1999.

The class action cases filed against the restaurants follow last year's filing of two other federal lawsuits involving discrimination during "Black Bike Week." On May 20, 2003, the Conway Branch NAACP and more than 25 individuals filed lawsuits alleging race discrimination by a hotel, the city, county and police during "Black Bike Week."

The new cases are being litigated by civil rights organizations, the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and the NAACP Legal Department; two Washington, D.C. law firms, Hogan & Hartson and Rose & Rose; and Derfner, Altman & Wilborn of South Carolina.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its half-million adult and youth members throughout the United States and the world are frontline advocates for civil rights, social justice and equal opportunity under law.

[ARTIC-U-LATE]

Interesting...I wonder if there were any comments gathered from the management of these restaurants. If so, did they even try to rationalize their reasons for closing during the event?

[Professor]

Fleming continues to close his restaurants, citing traffic issues. However, Fleming regularly keeps his restaurants open during Harley Week and other high-volume, dense traffic times of the year.

Originally posted by ARTIC-U-LATE
Interesting...I wonder if there were any comments gathered from the management of these restaurants. If so, did they even try to rationalize their reasons for closing during the event?

From what I've heard it's because there is a different environment when the Black Bikers are down there, as opposed to the Harleys.

I dont know if they have problems with customers or not.

Have y'all ever been down there for Black Bike Week? Or Harley Week?

[Love_Spell_6]

Originally posted by laidbackfella

Have y'all ever been down there for Black Bike Week? Or Harley Week?

I have been to Black Bike Week...and I can honestly say...although it IS discriminatory...I can understand why businesses would react this way. Now I know many black folks don't like to "air our dirty laundry" so to speak...but I'm not one of them..when you're wrong...you're wrong. The way the youth carry on at these functions (in my opinion its freaknic on a smaller scale) is just ridiculous. I haven't been to Harley week..so I don't can't compare the two events..but I do know there is a LOT of rowdy lude sexual behavior down there...but probably no more rowdy that Spring Break events. I dont think this is as much a racial issue..as it is a "rowdy teenagers" issue..

BUt that's just my opinion

[Honeykiss1974]

Back in my friskier days of college I attended both "regular" Spring Break in Daytona/Jacksonville and a few weeks later Black College Spring Break in the same location ('94-97). And let me tell you - one was not any more worse, lude, or rowdier than the other. Both times, I stayed on the strip. I remember seeing public drunkness, fights, sexual acts in public and everything at both events.

During "regular" spring break, businesses were open and advertised, catering to the needs of spring breakers. There were police there, but sparingly. Streets were open and everything. No problems with hotels or nothing.

Now, During BCSB, many businesses were closed. There was only one way in and out of the strip. And police were EVERYWHERE like gangbusters! And don't get me started how hotels would institute their own "curfew" type restricitions or armbands to identify you as a BCS breaker.

But this is just my experience though.

[Eclipse]

To me these two comments by you seem contradictory.

Originally posted by Love_Spell_6
I have been to Black Bike Week...and I can honestly say...although it IS discriminatory...I can understand why businesses would react this way.

Originally posted by Love_Spell_6
but I do know there is a LOT of rowdy lude sexual behavior down there...but probably no more rowdy that Spring Break events. I dont think this is as much a racial issue..as it is a "rowdy teenagers" issue..

If you understand how businesses would react this way are you saying they should react the same way as "majority" Spring Break weekends?

I'm not trying to justify rowdy behavior--wrong is wrong-- but at least be consistant!

[Love_Spell_6]

Originally posted by Eclipse
To me these two comments by you seem contradictory.







If you understand how businesses would react this way are you saying they should react the same way as "majority" Spring Break weekends?

I'm not trying to justify rowdy behavior--wrong is wrong-- but at least be consistant!

I'm always consistent..u just don't understand what I'm saying..

I SAID that I can understand why they'd want to do this...(doesn't mean that I'm saying they should or should not) GEt it?? I said I understand them...I didnt say one way or the other what they should do....If you own a busines, you understand the costs associated with rowdy behavior on your property, and expenses that could be incurred as a result

[TonyB06]

I hope the lawsuits are successful. I'm most bothered by the local government's additional restrictions. I'd hope the NAACP and other orgs there would organize economic boycotts of these businesses beyond Black Biker Week. Yes, these restaurants have a right to close. But those who disagree with this predjudicial behavior have a right to make them pay economically for their behavior.

Even better would be the development of new businesses to compete against these restaurants. After all, how smart can they be to deliberatly shut down in the face of so much additional revenue? I'm surprised that Damon's, a national chain, would be caught up in this foolishness.

[scivy1908]

I use to live near Myrtle Beach and I have seen both Biker Weeks first hand. With the Black Bikers, there is more traffic. I think they tend to cruise the streets a little more. Several of the businesses close during this weekend because their employees can't get to work. I have been to restaurants with a waiting time of over an hour because most of their employees called out during the Memorial Day weekend. I am not saying it's right, but I can understand.