When I moved here from the City in 1990 I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. Wonderful open-minded people, great schools, a lovely community. The fact that I had to bring a lawsuit against a local employer--and a neighbor at that--tells you that racial discrimination can rear its ugly head anywhere. This did not take long to correct because most of our town stopped eating at the restaurant after the protest march. What protest march, you ask?
Seventeen magazine
did a very sweet story about the case, because the plaintiff was a senior in high school when we brought suit. Abby was a friend and classmate of my daughter, and I could not have been more proud of Abby, my daughter and all her friends. They won this case with their protest march. After the march the town spontaneously staged a boycott.
This case was not brought principally to recover money damages. The case settled for a modest amount. One of our local papersreported that the restaurant owners learned an expensive lesson. A condition of settlement was that the restaurant consented to a Court order prohibiting it from discriminating again and to use best efforts to promote diversity in hiring in the future.
