Sounds like something right out of the last century. But it happened last weekend right here in Pensacola, FL to a black woman. It all went down like this.
She went to get gas at a Race Track gas station near I-10 and Rt. 29 around 9:30 p.m. while they were open. There was a woman attendant there who told her through the glass window to go away, that they don’t serve blacks at night. She didn’t understand what the woman told her at first because she couldn’t hear very well through the glass and the woman was a foreigner of some sort. So the woman kept replying “What? I can’t hear you?” Something like that. The attendant then brandished a hatchet towards her, telling her to get out and leave. She did leave, but as she was leaving, a white customer came up and was served without incident.
I am not releasing the identity of the woman who was refused service, and threatened with an axe, because the course of action she may take has not yet been determined. I know her personally and have no reason to doubt what she told me, and, there was a witness.
I don’t know how prevalent a behavior this is at that gas station but for me, once is too much. If something like this has happened to you, I’d appreciate hearing about it.
Thanks for the cross-posting Sam. Methinks you have more local readers than I do here. It may some day be more public and in the news outside of this blog.
I can say this much, I have given the name and phone number of a person who is interested in speaking with the victim to the victim. What happens next, if anything, is up to her. At any rate, this is something that begs for a remedy.
Ross: I cross-posted this on my weblog. r/Sam