“At least six businesses in Austin, Texas, have been plastered with stickers reading “Exclusively For White People,” drawing condemnation from the state’s residents, lawmakers and NAACP representatives.
Facebook user Brianna Smith posted a photo Wednesday of a circular sticker on the outside of a display window at Rare Trends, an Austin clothing boutique in a historically black neighborhood. The sticker reads: “Exclusively For White People. Maximum of 5 colored customers. Colored BOH staff accepted. Sponsored by the City of Austin Contemporary Partition and Restoration Program.” (“BOH staff” refers to “back of house” workers, employees who do not usually interact with customers.) The sticker also features an official City of Austin logo.
“This just goes to show racism is very much alive TODAY,” Smith wrote underneath the photo. “This was a hate crime created by someone who had way to much [sic] time on their hands. This sticker has been unknowingly posted on many private owned business in Austin.”
In a statement Wednesday, Austin Mayor Steve Adler called the appearance of the stickers “an appalling and offensive display of ignorance in our city.”
“Our city is a place where respect for all people is a part of our spirit and soul,” Adler said. “We will keep it that way.”
Adler noted that the stickers’ use of the City of Austin logo was unauthorized. The city has no Contemporary Partition and Restoration Program.”
Read more here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/19/whites-only-stickers-austin_n_6904296.html
Cenk Uygur (http://www.twitter.com/cenkuygur) and Ana Kasparian (http://www.twitter.com/AnaKasparian) discuss.