Monday, April 11, 2005

Racism is Alive and Well and Enjoying a Cheese Burger in a Bronx Diner

Racism is alive and well and enjoying a cheese burger in a Bronx diner. Wait is my job a restaurant or a diner? What’s the difference? I should ask someone who knows. Either way racism is one of the regulars in this joint. The bosses and their partners are all Greek. The people in the “higher up” positions are either Greek or Albanians. And here’s how it works with the “higher ups” in the joint I work at… they don’t talk to or associate with the black, or dark skinned Latino employees . There’s even one waitress who when waiting on blacks will slam the food down on their table as if it’s beneath her to serve them!
The other day I walk into the job and felt like I was in the Deep South during the 50’s. “Hark the herald!” I thought to myself, hasn’t anyone told these people about the civil rights movement?? The Albanian lady who was working the hostess shift before mines had segregated the restaurant. All the black patrons were seated in the section that is worked by one of the black waitresses. The only one working that shift that day. All of the other light skinned patrons were divided up among the other staff working that day.
Even the black waitress noticed it; she asked the hostess why was it that she seemed to be the only person waiting on the black customers. That kind of opened my eyes and made me take a good look at the things that go on in the diner. I noticed the difference in the way the customers were treated by then “higher ups”. It amazed me that feeling the way they do they would chose to open a place in a area so racially diverse as my neighborhood. In my hood we have Italians, Irish, Pakistanis, Arabs, Guyanese, and Asians living side by side with their Latino and Black brothers and sisters and we all get along. Yet in this restaurant among certain employees/ partners it’s like we’ve back tracked into another era. I have never experienced overt racism, this is as close as I have gotten to it and to tell you the truth it pains me that it still happens, especially in this restaurant which makes so much money off the people in this area.



Posted by @ 12:32 AM
0 comment from: