A Black mother and her young son are speaking out after being denied service at a Baltimore restaurant, they say because of the color of their skin.
A Black mother and her young son are speaking out after being denied service at a Baltimore restaurant, they say because of the color of their skin. When Marcia Grant and her 9-year-old son Dallas were told they could not be seated at the upscale Greek restaurant Ouzo Bay, Grant used her cellphone to record her pressing for answers as to why.
“Are you telling me we cannot eat here?” Grant can be heard asking.
She’s told the restaurant has a dress code and her son’s outfit violates it. The video shows Dallas wearing an Air Jordan T-shirt, athletic shorts and sneakers. Grant then films in the direction of a white boy in a similar outfit dining outside at the restaurant.
“But that white kid out there – he ate here with his tennis shoes on and his athletic shirt,” Grant says.
“We allow tennis shoes, but not athletic shorts,” the manager replies.
“You're telling me that little boy who just ate here does not have on an athletic shirt?” Grant says.
“I'm sorry. I would love for you to be able to come back and eat here,” the manager says, sounding as if he’s fumbling for an explanation.
“So it's only his shorts? Only the shorts can't be athletic?” Grant says.
“The shorts and the T-shirt. Yes,” the manager replies.
Grant continued to point to the other child wearing an outfit similar to her son’s. The manager then admitted to not getting a good look at it, but said: “it looked like a regular T-shirt to me.”
The restaurant has since apologized for the incident, saying “This should have never happened. We sincerely apologize to Marcia Grant, her son and everyone impacted by this painful incident."
Grant and Dallas appeared on “Good Morning America” to discuss the experience.
"He goes to a predominately white school ... and they teach the kids that everyone is the same," she said. "So for him to see a kid outside (at the restaurant) that looks like one of his friends at school, it was tough for him."
Dallas also spoke about the incident and the video his mother took going viral, noting a Baltimore police officer who saw the video stopped him on the street after recognizing him to say he was sorry for what happened.
"He said I could come over to his house anytime for dinner," Dallas said. "Makes me feel really good."
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