A Houston hotel is facing its second lawsuit, accused once again of unfairly targeting Black customers who have dined or entertained at its restaurant or bar.
The lawyer for the two plaintiffs, who have filed federal discrimination lawsuits, proclaimed, “Jim Crow is still alive, but apparently he’s sneakier” in the modern day.
The lawyer for Blessing Nwosu, 28, filed a civil rights violation claim with the United States District Court of the Southern District of Texas (Houston Division) on Friday, Oct. 20, against the Post Oak Hotel.
The complaint, obtained by Atlanta Black Star, alleges that Nwosu, a doctoral candidate at Houston Christian University and Christian children’s book author, was discriminated against because of her race and ethnicity by workers at the hotel, who embarrassed her by placing a shawl over her shoulders while she was seated at her table enjoying her company.
The lawsuit alleges that she was not the only woman in the establishment with her shoulders exposed. She took a selfie that showed, over her shoulder, a blond white woman with her shoulders out, wearing a spaghetti-strapped tank top.
On May 24, Nwosu and three of her friends arrived at the Bloom & Bee Restaurant in the Post Oak Hotel to ‘put together a birthday dinner.’ After she sat down, the claim details, the unthinkable happened.
“The restaurant host then came up behind Blessing and put a piece of cloth (shawl/scarf) on Blessing’s shoulders,” the lawsuit states. “Simultaneously, the host said that the cloth had to be put on a customer’s shoulder if their shoulders are showing. Blessing found her treatment to be very rude.”
During a news conference about the lawsuit, Nwosu shared her story.
“My back was actually facing the host that did it. I looked up like, ‘Oh my God.’ I was stricken with panic. I couldn’t believe it,” the former Miss Nigeria USA contestant said, as reported by the Houston Chronicle. “Everybody was looking. I feel like I was being made a spectacle, and it was embarrassing.”
The complaint submitted pictures from the restaurant’s Instagram page, which showed a table filled with white women, all of their shoulders out, and they were allowed to dine as they were.
Nwosu, according to the lawsuit, felt her civil rights were violated by the staff singling her out and treating her as “subhuman.”
Lawyers for the young woman say, ‘The Post Oak Hotel personally acted with malice and reckless indifference towards Plaintiff’s federally protected rights— singling her out for discriminatory treatment because she is an African-American and humiliating her.’
They are seeking compensation for damages based on what state laws consider appropriate, ‘in an amount of at least $500,000 or as determined by the trier-of-fact.’
The same hotel is also being sued by Willie Powells, who claims he was discriminated against at the HBar in another dress code incident. He alleged the establishment enforced a no-hats rule, requiring him, a Black man, to remove his baseball cap while allowing some of its white patrons to wear cowboy hats.
“What we see is a pattern of disparate treatment against African-Americans by the Post Oak Hotel,” her attorney Randall Kallinen said. “Jim Crow is still alive, but apparently he’s sneakier, using the dress code — some vague dress code — and saying that an African-American individual violates it.”
Post Oak Hotel general manager Steven Chou released a statement regarding Nwosu’s claim, calling it a “frivolous” lawsuit.
“The Post Oak attracts hotel patrons from all over the world and is one of the most diverse properties in Houston both in employees and in its customer base,” Chou stated. “The plaintiff entered one of the hotel’s restaurants for lunch and approached the hostess stand. The hostess noticed on her own that plaintiff was clearly overexposed in her dress and discreetly and respectfully offered her a shawl for coverage. The hostess is a minority and denies any discriminating nature towards the plaintiff and simply wanted plaintiff to cover up.”
He also said that Kallinen was looking for his 15 minutes of fame by suing them and using this as a way to drum up business for his firm.
“It’s a lot cheaper these days to use the media for free publicity in lieu of paying for billboards or television advertising,” he wrote.
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