Roommates, the following story is the perfect example of what can happen when we all band together with a common goal for a boycott!
Back in October, rapper #TI aka #TipHarris led protesters on a boycott of Atlanta-area restaurant called Houston’s near Lenox Mall. There were multiple reports of black people who felt that they had been discriminated against while attempting to dine-in. Rapper Wacka Flocka’s mom Deb Atney blasted the restaurant on Instagram for refusing to seat her and six others which helped the movement gain even more momentum.
What many do not know is that the boycott was originally started by actress Ernestine Johnson and her fiancé Jay Morrison. Ernestine had been denied service which prompted her to rally with others in order to make some changes! Thanks to rapper TI stepping in, their movement garnered national attention which ultimately got them what they wanted.
Speaking with The Shade Room, Ernestine and Jay let us know that TI had announced an official end to the boycott last week. The three of them were able to meet with the higher ups at Houston’s parent company, Hillstone, where they came up with solutions and policies which would prevent any type of discrimination for happening again.
“TI reached out to us to help lead the demonstrations and speak on behalf of the city of Atlanta and the collective.” Ernestine tells us. “We didn’t want to make all this noise and then just go away, so he came in at the perfect time to strategize.” Next, Jay and Ernestine explained that after they were able to get attention from Hillstone, they along with the rapper and NAACP attorney Gerald Griggs attended meetings with them where they discussed removing management who was consistently accused of discrimination as well as implementing diversity training.
“It was very important for us to make sure that some changes were made in the culture of the restaurant,” says Jay. “Tip came to every meeting and was so engaged and very solution-oriented. We were able to come to an agreement for the employees who were repeatedly accused of racial discrimination to be moved out of the Lenox location.”
“Adding minority inclusion to the company’s structure was a must for us and they agreed! They are implementing diversity training and are even changing the dress code. I mean, everyone should be respected equally and we were elated to know that they were eager to listen to us and do what they could to prevent this from happening in the future.”
Houston’s released a statement on Friday affirming the news which you guys can view below!
TSR STAFF: Talia O. @theclosetratchet on IG
