UPDATED: Hubbard says he was target of racial incident in Soulard
State Rep. Rodney Hubbard says he was the target of racial intimidation in a lunchtime incident at Soulard today.
After media inquiries, Hubbard’s campaign released a statement saying that Hubbard was at Johnny’s on Russell Boulevard, eating lunch with his twin brother,Rontonyo Hubbard-Bey, and businessman Sam Salama, who owns a market near Hubbard’s home in Carr Square.
According to the statement, shortly after their arrival, two “visibly intoxicated” male patrons told them that they were in a “white bar.”
Hubbard, according to the statement from his campaign, left the restaurant and called police form outside.
“It is ironic that just one day after Sen. Barack Obama reminded the nation that its racial wounds have not yet healed, that I am personally reminded that our city’s racial divide is still very much alive,” Hubbard said in the statement.
“I know that the actions of these two men are not indicative of the vast majority of people,” Hubbard stated, ”but if an elected official like myself, a businessman like Mr. Salama, or a man like my brother experience this kind of blatant discrimination in 2008, it is clear we still have a lot of work to do.”
Police would not reveal details of the incident, but did confirm there was a “disturbance call” made and at least one summons for disturbing the peace issued.
We’ll post more info on this episode as it comes available.
UPDATE:
The owner of the tavern, the eponymous Johnny Daus, says his staff have informed him that there were no racial comments directed at the Hubbard brothers or Salama. Daus was in the restaurant at the time, but in the downstairs office.
“I have two girls who were standing there the whole time and say nothing like that was said,” Daus said.
Rodney Hubbard, center, with Russ Carnahan
The comments in this thread are embarassing, to say the least.
That being said, I was at Johnny’s 2 days ago and I love that place. Though I probably would stay out of there if I were running for public office.
D. Walker - The waitresses, so far as I can tell, have no reason to lie. Hubbard, on the other hand, stands to benefit tremendously from the reporting on this incident, and the sympathy it will generate amongst his constituents. That still doesn’t mean he is a liar - it could have been a misunderstanding too.
And by the way, I’m not sure why their attire is relevant to their verity. If women who serve drinks in bikinis are liars, what about the men who patronize them?
I cannot believe this is about race as much as it is about Egos. I’ve been going to Johnny’s for years and can tell you that this is a place where everyone tells you their ‘big whoppers stories’ . Everyone’s a millionaire, everyone’s been a sports star, everyone knows someone, everyone’s important. It’s nothing more than that. It was too much alcohol for someone who couldn’t handle it and didn’t like being outdone by a ‘bigger fish story’.
If: and I say if because I wasn’t there, racial remarks were said, it is a reflection on the individual and not the establishment. Trust me, Johnny would not put up with that. Period, end of story.
As far as the girls, get over it. Yes they’re beautiful and wear basically nothing. That’s not against the law. Place an order, you’ll get great service and a quality product. The food is outstanding and the beers are cold. Johnny’s has the best ‘Wings’ in the city and you can get almost any sporting event on TV there.
Don’t trash Johnny because some idiot made a racial remark. I’ll argue that’s a problem of poor parenting more than anything else and this guy should be a poster child for the Pro Choice movement. Decent people will tell you that,
2 reasons to Boycot Johnnys
1) Its in the city and we all know that we are boycoting the city because of slay.
2) Some patrons are alegedly racist.
Lets make a statment…. go to the wonderful clubs of East St. Louis!
Remember there is no sex in the champaign room… but theirs no racism eather!
#9-Bill,
Why do people overreact about such stupid things?
Rugrat is actually a adoring term used for children, what are you insinuating, I call my own little pumpkins, rugrats.
Neither do you comprehend what you read well. My statement under that other thread was that a particular person could still send his rugrats to Harvard…
Is that calling ones who attend Harvard rugrats.
Off the subject a minute here…I was watching channel 5 and a Bin Ladin message with his picture and words captions under just high jacked the KSDK network interruping it with a message stating that we were stupid and so on….. Let’s end proving Bin Ladin correct.
Correction: I should have said, let’s not CONTINUE to prove him correct.
D Walker (or anyone else)
Let us ASSUME that everything happened just the way Rodney Hubbard said it did.
Why make it public?
Johnny didn’t do anything… nor is it alleged that any of his people did. Why ‘punish’ him? Does Hubbard “want” anything from him?
Is Hubbard looking to say… sue the two (drunk) customers? Does he think that after all this these people will come forward?
The only reason Hubbard has for doing anything other than laugh this off as ‘two drunk crackers’ is for all the play the media will give it. Publicity… nothing more nothing less.
Britney flashing = Rodney Hubbard telling a story.
So the restaurant is claiming that someone was right next to the men at all times listening to every word? The waitresses claims sound quite unbelievable to me. I agree with the Senator’s statement that we have a very long way to go regarding the racial divide in this country. I remember a young black college student that I worked with in the St. Louis area who told me that he was harassed on the way home from bowling on a Friday night. He said it happened to him and his black college friends at least once a month. This was a very intelligent and polite young man, who made the decision not to leave home on Friday evenings so he didn’t have to deal with harassment by white police officers and white locals. It’s a shame that people of color still receive so much hostility in America simply because their skin is a different hue than someone else. It shows we ALL still have a lot of work to do.
One question. Were the men right. Is it a white bar?
Chris, if you can find one willing to do it, get a white person to walk down the street of say Pine Lawn or down North Grand and Natural Bridge and see if they don’t get a hostile reaction. That is of course if they are able to get home at all.
Folks act as if racism only exist in the form of whites harming blacks. There is just as much coming in the opposite direction.