Words by Alexandra Salandy
The popular restaurant Houston’s is being accused of discrimination in Atlanta.
Houston’s Atlanta-Lenox location is the restaurant’s oldest location and has been serving since 1997. Recently, an activist that goes by the name Young Malcolm is claiming that the restaurant discriminated against him, his girlfriend, and his team.
On Friday, the couple and their team walked into Houston’s requesting a table for a party of seven. The restaurant workers quickly informed them that they do not seat parties that big. Young Malcolm then requested to be seated separately and the restaurant workers stated that they do not split up large parties. After being declined multiple times for seating Young Malcolm used his social media to expose the situation. In the video, the managers, host, and the chef of the restaurant are asking the group to leave because they can not accommodate a group of that amount. The restaurant workers also told them that they know they came in as a group of seven and will not do separate seating.
Young Malcolm’s video went viral and he began proposing the idea of boycotting Houston’s on Lenox Road. Activists arranged a protest outside of Houston’s on Saturday, October 7th, informing people to wear all black. The movement grabbed the attention of thousands all around the world and in Atlanta. T.I even participated in the protest Saturday afternoon. Multiple celebrities began to speak out on this discrimination allegation, including Debra Antey, who said she did her research and discrimination at Houston’s is nothing new.
Once the establishment got word of the protest they closed the Lenox location for the day. Upon the protesters’ arrival, police were guarding the entrance of Houston’s and did not allow anyone on the Houston’s Lenox property. The establishment released a statement on Instagram explaining the incident and why they felt the need to close down the Lenox location.
This is not the end of the #ShutItDown movement, it’s only the beginning.
