(May 1, 2018) Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes has called for an investigation just days following the act of owners of the Grandview Golf Course (York County, Pa.) calling the police on five African American women who they said were not playing fast enough. The incident also has resulted in the club losing local business.
In a response to the situation, Casta Cigars, a boutique cigar shop located about five miles from the golf club, quickly denounced Grandview’s confrontation with the five black women. The company says it is committing to “prohibit any future sales to the club. Casta Cigars had previously sold a one-time wholesale order, a few months ago, of about 40 cigars to Grandview. Casta Cigars is now saying that it would “prohibit any future sales” to the club.
COMPANY PULLS ITS PRODUCT FROM GRANDVIEW
“I commend Casta Cigars for stepping up to denounce racial and sexual discrimination of individuals on golf courses,” said Debert Cook, publisher, African American Golfer’s Digest. “As a minority and as a woman, I feel especially impacted on what is alleged to have happened at Grandview Golf Club. No company should have its brand, product or service affiliated with, distributed, or sold at, any facility that disenfranchises consumers based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other basis of discrimination prohibited by law. It’s just not right. ”
On April 21, as the new club members played golf on the course, the women were told by owners and employees of the Course that they were taking too long to move from hole to hole. The club also offered to refund their memberships and then called 911.
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The club’s owner, Jordan Chronister, was shown on video footage that was taken by one of the women, saying that he had been timing them. His tone even sounds to be mocking them as he continues to interrupt while admonishing them to leave the course before the police arrive. And, yes, the police did indeed arrive on the scene shortly afterward but determined that law enforcement did not need to be involved.
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“When you see these African American women dealing with this issue, for many people it brings back this very long, very troubled history of racism and sexism, and just the denial of people’s humanity,” said state Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia-Montgomery County) to MSN Sports. “It’s 2018.”
Just this past Wednesday, Hughes fired off a letter to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission requesting that an investigation be made into the incident at Grandview. In the letter, Hughes states that the “women believe they were asked to leave the course because of their race and gender.”
Sen. Vincent J. Hughes, (D-Pa.)
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In addition to Senator Hughes, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, along with the state’s Human Relations Commission and the Governor’s Advisory Commission on African American Affairs, issued a statement on Thursday condemning racial discrimination in public places, including the arrests of two black men at a Philadelphia Starbucks and the incident at Grandview.
“We urge business managers and owners to reflect upon the treatment of individuals who seek to patronize your businesses,” the statement read. Hughes told The Post that the incident at Grandview exposed many layers of racial tensions within golf. African Americans — from elite athletes to amateurs — have historically been blocked from advancing in the sport. And for decades, women have been barred from gaining membership to some of the country’s most exclusive clubs.
