National
Black Women ‘Humiliated’ After Getting Kicked off Napa Valley Wine Train
(Photo by Lisa Johnson)
Evan Sernoffsky, SAN FRANCISCO GATE
NAPA VALLEY (San Francisco Gate) — What started as a joyous ride through wine county Saturday afternoon turned into a “humiliating” experience for 11 African American women, who said they were booted off the Napa Valley Wine Train for laughing and talking too loud.
Accounts and pictures of the episode have been spreading across social media, spawning the hashtag #LaughingWhileBlack while the women involved have questioned whether they would have been treated differently if they were not African American.
“It was humiliating. I’m really offended to be quite honest,” said 47-year-old Lisa Johnson, who was among Saturday’s group. “I felt like it was a racist attack on us. I feel like we were being singled out.”
The women have since been given a full refund by the train company, but continue to seek a public apology.
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