CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Nine Black women who witnessed at altercation at a Chesapeake restaurant say they were discriminated against and wrongfully removed earlier this month, prompting them to consider legal action.
Shakoya Somerville-Holt said she and her friends were dining at Cork and Bull Restaurant when two other Black women who weren't with their group started fighting. While those women left the restaurant, Somerville-Holt said managers told her group to leave as well, even though they weren't involved in the altercation.
Watch: Video obtained by WTKR shows fight at Cork and Bull restaurant before women say they were asked to leave
"No one should be removed from an establishment or denied service when they've done nothing wrong and there should be some type of accountability, clarity, as well as prevention," Somerville-Holt said. "I don't want this to happen to anyone else again."
When Somerville-Holt questioned the decision, she said a manager made a racially charged comment.
"I questioned, Are you shutting the entire restaurant down for tonight? No, we're just not servicing you all because y'all like to fight," Somerville-Holt said.
Somerville-Holt and her friends have retained attorney Joyvan Malbon-Griffin, who said they're considering taking legal action against the restaurant.
"So we could start with an apology, but I think at this point, after so much time has passed, after so many hurt feelings, after the anxiety, the emotional toll that now they have to seek out professional advice from just to be able to get through it," Malbon-Griffin said.
Cork and Bull Restaurant declined to comment. A manager said their attorneys have advised them not to issue a statement.
The President of the NAACP Virginia State Conference said the incident "is a painful reminder that racism remains embedded in our daily lives. It is unacceptable for anyone to be judged or mistreated based solely on the color of their skin."
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