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Pa. Senator: ‘Crime was being black on a public golf course’

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The parking lot is full at Grandview Golf Club Sunday April 22, 2018. (Photo: Paul Kuehnel, York Daily Record)

(Harrisburg) — A state senator has called for the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission to investigate the case of five African-American women who say they endured race and gender discrimination at Grandview Golf Club on Saturday.

In a Wednesday letter, Sen. Vincent J. Hughes, D-Philadelphia/Montgomery County, made the request to M. Joel Bolstein, interim chair of the commission, into what he called “a troubling and disturbing incident.” 

“I’m just so damned frustrated,” Hughes wrote on his website. “We have to deal with situations like this too frequently. This time, police determined it was not a matter they should have been involved in, but it is appalling that someone would call the police for a non-violent incident where the only crime was being black on a public golf course.”

The five women, Sandra Thompson, 50; Myneca Ojo, 56; sisters Sandra Harrison, 59, and Carolyn Dow, 56, and Karen Crosby, 58, initially were told on the second hole they were not keeping the pace of play by former York County Commissioner Steve Chronister, who told them he was the club’s owner, they said. 

The women say no one else at the club in Dover Township was treated the way they were.

Later, the women were told they had been timed on their break between holes 9 and 10 and had taken too long. They were then asked to leave, offered their membership money refunded, and the police were called.

“I felt we were discriminated against,” Ojo said Sunday. “It was a horrific experience.”

The club on Sunday appeared apologetic in an initial statement, then seemed to take a more defensive tone with its second statement. 

Others weigh in 

On his Twitter page, Hughes posted one of the videos shot during part of the incident: “The video speaks for itself, which is why I am asking for the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission to investigate the report of discrimination at Grandview Golf Club in York County. We must address discrimination on the state level.” Hughes then tagged Gov. Tom Wolf.

Wolf, the Governor’s Advisory Commission on African-American Affairs, and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission released a joint statement about the Grandview incident.

“We urge business managers and owners to reflect upon the treatment of individuals who seek to patronize your businesses,” the statement reads in part. “Businesses are considered places of public accommodations and are subject to the anti-discrimination provisions of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA).”

Read the full statement here.

Andrew Romeo, campaign secretary for state Sen. Scott Wagner, R-York County, spoke Thursday about Hughes’ call for an investigation into Grandview.

“Scott does not tolerate discrimination of any form in his own businesses and does not believe it is acceptable anywhere,” Romeo said. “He would support an investigation to get to the bottom of what happened in this instance.” 

In addition, the Anti-Defamation League issued a news release Thursday.

“We were deeply concerned to learn of this incident at Grandview Golf Club, as yet another example of the impacts of systemic racial discrimination and bias in our society,” said ADL Regional Director Nancy K. Baron-Baer. “As we have seen around our region and the country, throughout history and still today, people of color are too often held to a different standard when engaging in daily activities. It is time that our society finally confronts implicit bias in order to prevent incidents of discrimination in the future.

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Sandra Thompson, right, speaks alongside Sandra Harrison, both golfers and members of a group of local women known as Sisters in the Fairway, during an interview with The Associated Press, Tuesday April 24, 2018 in York. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma)

 

Group of women meets

The five women met Wednesday night; however, they did not discuss the proposed meeting with club co-owner JJ Chronister, Thompson said.

“It was just (to talk about) how we’re feeling,” he said. “and just download with each other.”

Thompson said she received a call from Hughes on Wednesday.

“I was very grateful for his call, where he gave personal expressions of sympathy,” she said.

Thompson added she was also thankful for members of the community who have spoken out upon learning of the alleged discrimination at the club, “who have the voices to make these businesses listen.”

As they gathered Wednesday, Dow received a call from state Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams (D-Philadelphia). In Williams’ call, put on speaker so all of the women could hear, he expressed his support for Hughes’ push for an investigation, Thompson said.

Cigar maker severs association

On Thursday, York’s Casta Cigars issued a statement about the Grandview incident. In an email, President Jacob Hammill said his company’s statement was in response to “comments regarding our association with Grandview. Hoping this helps as I feel people have the wrong impression,” he wrote in an email.

“The incident that transpired at Grandview Golf Club was unacceptable and does not align with the values of Casta Cigars,” the statement reads. “Our shop on East King St is a diverse and welcome place for anybody to enjoy a cigar. To be clear, our affiliation with Grandview was a one-time transaction (sold the club some cigars) made months ago and although we can’t predict the behavior of our customers, we will prohibit any future sales to Grandview Golf Club.”

 

This story comes to us through a partnership between WITF and The York Daily Record

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