"Some people find it amusing, they were laughing and said 'oh yes it's about time you put that up', so I think they all realise what's going on here," she said. "And some others just read it and walk away. I've heard one or two swear words as well regarding the notice." The single mother-of-three has run the café for two years, serving a mixture of British, African and Caribbean food. Ms Kolleh said a lot of people in Ossett had supported her, but if business did not improve she would have to close by autumn. She said: "I put [the sign] there because of the way people treat me in Ossett.
"They just open the door of my café and once they take a look at me they walk out. I hired a white woman called Tracey. When Tracey is in the café she does well and people will come in and it will be full, once I stay in the background. But if Tracey is not working and I'm working nobody comes in." She said it was not her intention to accuse the whole town of being racist. "There are some very nice people in Ossett and they've been very very nice to me." Labour councillor Tony Richardson, who represents Ossett on Wakefield Council, said he was "utterly appalled" when he saw the sign.
YouTube link.
"It has shocked me very much," he said. "I have spent 20 years as a trade unionist and fought against this sort of attitude and I certainly won't put up with it in Ossett. We have got to say it potentially could smack of racism and if it does we have to crush it with everything we have got. I am absolutely certain there is not a problem in Ossett. I have met thousands of people in Ossett and they are wonderful people, very diverse," he said. Figures for ethnicity from the 2011 Census show that of Ossett's population of 16,116, 97.5% (15,724) were recorded as white.
13 comments:
This is incredibly sad. I keep thinking that people's biases have lessened. Then I read some crap like this and it just breaks my heart.
There are a few cafes I've walked into, taken one look, and walked right back out again and it had bugger all to do with the colour of the person serving and everything to do with the poor up-keep of the place. Just because this woman alleges racism does not make it a fact but hats off to her, she got the publicity she wanted.
Bos, did you not actually read the article? When her white employee is working, the walk-outs drop. Clearly not a case of up-keep as you're insinuating.
All those who automatically assume racism when only one side of the situation has been presented are clearly predudice themselves.
How does she know people are leaving because of her race?
I'm local to this cafe and I can tell you that it's a fairly cosmopolitan area. Black, asian, chinese, east european, you name it. More than half the restaurants and cafes in the area are run by people who are not white British, yet nobody else is complaining. It is, therefore, unlikely that people are leaving the cafe because of the owner's colour.
How often have you been sitting in a cafe or bar and seen people walk in check out the place and then leave? How often have you done it yourself? It's fairly common for people to enter such an establishment and then leave because they don't like the look of the place, the menu or maybe the clientelle.
This woman is being belligerent and maybe a little paranoid (in the correct sense of the word).
She serves a "mixture of British, African and Caribbean food." Well that's what is driving people out right there.
Yes, anonymous, I did "actually read the article". Read this: the sky is pea-green with a yellow border.
The above was an "article" and you MUST now believe everything in it.
Wow, the white commentators here sure got riled up as the possibility of racism.
"Wow, the white commentators here sure got riled up as the possibility of racism."
Says the racist.
And not very well, either. Grammar, it's your friend.
She should have hired more Traceys to improve the look of the place. Traceys are very good at such jobs.
"Figures for ethnicity from the 2011 Census show that of Ossett's population of 16,116, 97.5% (15,724) were recorded as white."
This is largely irrelevant, it would be more interesting to see what the makeup of the population of Wakefield and Dewsbury as a whole rather than just Ossett. Ossett is separated from Wakefield by the width of the M1 and Dewsbury by little more. And Wakefield, Dewsbury and Ossett are part of a huge conurbation that spreads across West Yorkshire.
And again find me another none white cafe or restaurant owner in West Yorkshire who complains of similar problems.
You're not wrong. We had a child at our local school who was constantly in trouble. The cause being pretty standard behaviour for a spoiled child; he wouldn't take instruction and had absolutely no boundaries. So far situation normal. However the child in question was black and his mother had a whole sack of chips on both shoulders. Therefore every time the son got in trouble the mother would shout racism. As a result the child's behaviour got worse.
Nobody could get through to her that the other black and racial minority families at the school didn't have similar issues. She wrote off any criticism of her or her son as racism. In the end when she got nowhere complaining to the school or the LA she moved her child to another school a couple of miles up the road. The word from that school is that the pattern is repeating.
Racism isn't the issue. The problem is that some people won't take responsibility for their problems and will blame them on bigotry or prejudice of one sort or another.
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