Two years ago, a group of five African American women golfing at a Pennsylvania golf course had the police called on them alleging that they were playing too slowly.
This year, two of the women involved in the incident Myneca Ojo and Karen Crosby, filed a racial and gender discrimination lawsuit against Brew Vino LLC which owns the Grandview Golf course as well as several employees involved.
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In their first game as members of the Grandview Golf course in York County, Pennsylvania. The women state that they were moving slowly because they hadn’t played in a while. However, they didn’t think they were holding up other players.
A man in a group behind them stated that the women were not impeding his play in any way. However, the co-owner of the club, Steve Chronister said that the women weren’t meeting time guidelines and called 911 twice.
York County police determined that the issue wasn’t a police matter, and the women left on their own.
The incident, which made national news in 2018, was one of many that year where African Americans suffered the indignity of having the police called on them for everyday activities. The phenomenon became known as #LivingWhileBlack.
An investigation of the incident found that the women had probable cause and that they were, “profiled, harassed, evicted, and subjected to different terms and conditions of service because of their protected classes.” That ruling gave them the right to sue for damages.
Two of the other women in the group, Sandra Harrison and Carolyn Dow, filed a similar lawsuit against the golf course. In their suit, they are seeking a declaratory judgment that would clearly state that they were discriminated against.
The final woman in the group, attorney Sandra Thompson, told CNN that she does intend to file a suit against the golf course.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial as requests compensatory and punitive damages.
Chronister, now a defendant in the civil suit alleges that the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission has not “handled investigations properly.” The commission itself has denied any allegations of mishandling or bias.
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