A group of black women were escorted from the Napa Valley Wine Train and met by police officers when other customers complained about the noise, saying that the women were laughing and talking too loudly.
The group of women, including an 83-year-old grandmother, had all been wearing matching shirts for their book club that read, “Sistahs on the Reading Edge,” as they were laughing and chatting with one another, reports SFGate.com.
Although the explanation given to the women was that there had been noise complaints, a fellow passenger took to Yelp to give her version of the story, saying in her review, “Definitely not an organization I would recommend or ever support again. I watched in disbelief as staff harassed a group of people who were merely drinking wine and laughing. I’d like to think it wasn’t a racially motivated act, but given the fact that other, non-black guests were behaving in the same way and not removed, I can only conclude that it was discrimination. This business belongs in the ‘what is wrong with our country’ category. Steer clear if you would like to be part of the solution, rather than the problem of white supremacy and racism.”
There are many other Yelp reviewers who have negatively reviewed the company for it’s mi
At one point, one of the passengers told them, “This isn’t a bar,” and seemed perturbed at their behavior.
A manager spoke to them twice about the noise, and Lisa Johnson, one of the women, said that many of them quieted down after that, but then there were told “This isn’t going to work” and asked to get off at the next stop.
“People were looking at us,” said Johnson. “To get escorted into the hands of waiting police officers. That’s the humiliating part.”
She went on to add, “I felt like it was a racist attack on us. I feel like we were being singled out.”
In a now deleted Facebook post, the train company said in-part, “Following verbal and physical abuse towards other guests and our staff, it was necessary to get our police involved.”
The women would like a public apology from the Napa Valley Wine Train, however recent comments from a company spokesperson don’t seem very apologetic in nature.
According to SFGate.com, spokeswoman Kira Devitt said Sunday that her company had “received complaints from several parties in the same car and after three attempts from staff, requesting that the group keep the noise to an acceptable level, they were removed from the train and offered transportation back to the station in Napa.”
Devitta also added, “The Napa Valley Wine Train does not enjoy removing guests from our trains, but takes these things very seriously in order to ensure the enjoyment and safety of all of our guests.”