| May. 22nd, 2007 @ 09:21 pm Racism in Montreal -- my mom was discriminated against by a Vietnamese salon owner! |
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Dear friends,
I'm posting the letter that my sister Elizabeth sent to the Montreal papers. It's about a racist Vietnamese salon owner who discriminated against my mother.
Racism is painful, and I will do my part in eliminating it. I am really hurt by this incident of racism and my mom is really depressed about it. Read on.
Fyi, this is the address of the salon:
Hair Salon 2000 Plus
4721 Ave. Van Horne, Local 4
Montreal, Quebec
H3W 1H8 Canada
Tel no: +1-514-341-8904
Cell: +1-514-862-1299
Thanks,
Jennifer
May 22, 2007
I am writing to share with your readers my family’s first-hand experience of racism at the Hair Salon 2000 on Van Horne Ave.
On May 19, my mother, my daughter and I went to the salon at 11 am for our haircut appointment. The room was full of clients and noticeably, most of the customers were Filipinos, just like us. We patiently waited for our turn and after an hour and a half of waiting, my daughter and I were called for our turn. Shortly after, the assistant called my mother for shampooing. But at the same time, two Caucasian ladies arrived and suddenly, the owner, Danielle, asked the assistant to bump my mother off and to immediately assist the two Caucasian women instead. Upon hearing this, I immediately complained to the owner and said it is not fair that the two ladies were jumping the queue, especially since there were a few of us who had been waiting for much longer and with appointments to boot. Danielle ignored my appeal, and proceeded to assist the women. Furious, I explained to her that just because they are white, they do not deserve special treatment. They have to wait for their turn like everyone else. But Danielle replied, “I am the boss, I can do whatever I want!” I bluntly told her that she should be ashamed of herself to say that in front of her clientele, which is composed of mostly Filipinos.
So my mother was refused service in favor of the two Caucasian women, amid protests by the other Filipino clients. I was really shocked to witness such discrimination and unfair treatment, especially from Danielle, who is a visible minority herself. My mother immediately left the salon emotionally distraught. It was a painful experience for her, for me and for my daughter. It is so hard to witness such bias, especially in this country which prides itself with multiculturalism. My mother said she was deeply embarrassed since the discrimination was done openly and in front of others in a humiliating manner. She said if she were asked politely to give way to the women, it would have been a different feeling, but instead, she felt so discriminated against in front of her daughter and her 11-year-old granddaughter.
It is sad that my daughter had to witness such bigotry, and it is heartbreaking that my mother had to experience it first-hand. Let’s all eliminate racism by speaking out and educating our children about it. Nobody should ever experience such disgusting treatment, whether they are Filipinos, Vietnamese, Blacks, Hispanics, or any other minorities. Sadly, there exist such racist establishments like Hair Salon 2000.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Ellson-Fernandez
Mobile: 514 814 4176
A similar incident happened in the US last week. A Vietnamese salon owner refused service to a black family. It is really sad that such bigotry exists between visible minorities. Here is the newspaper story:
Ex-customers accuse salon of discrimination. Owner said she just didn't know how to do their hair.
11:29 PM CDT on Wednesday, May 16, 2007
By Wendell Edwards / 11 News
At a strip center in northwest Houston is the Fantasy Cut and
Nails Salon a salon that appears to be open to the public, but 11 News has been told not everyone is welcomed.
Hard to fathom, but Tia Dosewell said that’s what happened to her. She had been a regular customer at the shop for nearly year. It’s just around the corner from her home.
“It just hit me in the face,” Dosewell said. “This is straight up discrimination.”
But in April she stopped getting her hair cut after being refused service — not once but three times.
She learned why on her final visit.
“As soon as I walked into the door, she immediately approached me and told me she could not cut my hair,” Dosewell said. “Then at that time I was demanding answers.
“I said that’s just straight up discrimination; so you are discriminating against me. I can’t cut your hair.”
And she wasn’t alone.
Dosewell found out her son, her friend and her friend’s mom all were refused service by shop manager Jenny Truong, they say because they were black.
The group shared their stories with 11 News.
“She just straight told me that, ‘we can’t cut black people hair. We can’t cut your hair anymore. I’ll send you down to my friends shop down the street,’” Bobbie Ross said.
“’We no cut no black hair, no more because they complain too
much,’” Katie Anderson said. “’You go down the street,’ and she was telling me about the other shop.”
It sounds hard to imagine.
Discrimination laws date back to 1968, and 11 News legal analyst Gerald Treece said the law is clear: “And it says any
facility in the United States open to the public has to engage in non-discrimination,” Treece said.
And punishment can be severe, he said.
“The penalties are both civil, that is people can sue you for a violation of this, and they are criminal,” Treece said. ”This is something the Department of Justice can investigate.”
11 News confronted Jenny Truong.
11 News: “Jenny, I’m Wendell Edwards from Channel 11. Some of your former customers tell me you refuse to cut black people’s hair — is this true?
JT: “No, no, no, we never do that, we have customers with black hair but the trouble.”
At first Troung denied that she ever refused service to black customers. But in the middle of the conversation she said she didn’t know how to cut that type of hair.
JT: “That’s different hair.”
11 News: “But that’s discrimination. You were cutting their hair before, and then you stopped all of a sudden. Why?”
JT: “I stopped because they got curly hair. I got in trouble; they complain to me.”
Truong said one person complained, and since then she stopped
serving black patrons.
11 News: “So you don’t cut black people’s hair anymore?
JT: “Because that’s curly hair.”
11 News: “Are you racist?”
“No, she is not racist,” another employee said. “Before we cut one or two customer, and the customer you know, they — they argue.”
At this point, Dosewell and her friends said they don’t want to return to the shop.
“I appreciated the service, but then to find out I’m not appreciated because of my race — it is hard,” Dosewell said. “I spent a lot of money in that shop, and I was a good customer.”
But now this former customer is considering a lawsuit alleging discrimination by the business that turned her away.
Truong told 11 News the salon does provide other services such as manicures and pedicures to African American customers.
One other note, 11 News legal expert Professor Jerry Treece said businesses open to the public cannot turn away customers -- not for the texture of the hair and not because people complain.
The laws of discrimination are clear. However, the business could ask clients to sign a waiver that states the quality of their work may not satisfy all customers said Treece. |
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