Two young women who were in the midst of organizing a Black Lives Matter protest Friday at Simms Park in Courtenay were subject to a racial slur two nights before the event.
Daruna Nikii and Chai Sullivan were dining at the Cornerstone Taphouse Wednesday, June 3 in downtown Courtenay when a man entered the premises. A message on CornerstoneB次元官网网址檚 Facebook page says the man was verbally abusive to both staff and customers.
B次元官网网址淪omeone yelled [NB次元官网网址�..] at me,B次元官网网址� Nikii says in a Facebook post. B次元官网网址淲hich shows that racism is still around and itB次元官网网址檚 really sad. I have no words to express how disgusted I was to hear this man call me that for no reason at all, especially with all of whatB次元官网网址檚 happening in the world. People at the restaurant barely did anything until the cops showed up.B次元官网网址�
A restaurant patron, who the women did not know, allegedly approached the man and tried to converse with him, but the abusive man left the premises.
Cornerstone staff called the Comox Valley RCMP shortly before 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.
B次元官网网址淎 37-year old man was arrested by police for mischief, causing a disturbance, and breach of probation,B次元官网网址� Const. Monika Terragni said in a statement.
Tim Monier, a friend of the two women, came to the taphouse around the time police arrived. From what Monier understands, before the man left the building, he said to Nikii, B次元官网网址榊ou need to be taught a lesson.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淚t was just insanity,B次元官网网址� Monier said. B次元官网网址淭he reaction from the people in the restaurant would have been more upsetting almost than the person who actually called her the n word himself.B次元官网网址�
Cornerstone says it is devastated by the racial attack.
| Cornerstone Taphouse took to social media to address a racist incident at the establishment. |
B次元官网网址淲e wish our customer had not been racially targeted because of the colour of her skin,B次元官网网址� the post says. B次元官网网址淲e empathize with the realities that BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) and black people face this fear everyday, and we are sad our establishment became a place for this racism to express itself and cause harm to the young black woman. Know that we will never accept racism on our premises. We know that Black Lives Matter. We will continue to ensure to the best of our ability that Cornerstone is a safe space, and we will always stand with our black customers in their fight for equality. We condemn all forms of violence, and continue to strive for a world where all people are equal and safe, no matter if they are enjoying the ambience of our restaurant or simply out in public living their lives.B次元官网网址�
In an email to The Record, the restaurant manager explained that the customer in question was in the process of being removed from the restaurant for unrelated matter, when he approached Niiki and Sullivan and verbally accosted them.
Cornerstone has permanently banned the man from its premises at 5th and Cliffe.
The Comox Valley Record reached out to both Nikii and Sullivan for additional comment, but neither had responded as of press time.
reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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