Tunde Wey's Restaurant Activism

[Hypestyles]

I hope this is a well-attended event. Sounds intriguing.

Earlier this month, Nigerian-born chef and writer Tunde Wey developed a fairly brilliant idea for highlighting the wealth gap between black and white people in New Orleans. He launched a Nigerian pop-up lunch counter and social experiment that — simply put — charged black people $12 for a plate of food and asked white people to pay $30 for the same dish.

https://www.metrotimes.com/table-and...ge-and-charity

The pricing reflected a statistic that white people hold about 2.5 times the wealth of black people, and it certainly produced a discussion. Now he's bringing the New Orleans pop-up, called Saartj, to Hamtramck, though it won't be an exact replica.


Wey — who arrived in Detroit to study at 16 years old and co-owned Hamtramck's Revolver — is keeping the details close. But he tells the Free Press: "If you go to a restaurant right now – any nice, high-end restaurant – as much as possible, folks try to tailor the experience to you. They want to know what you like. I want to take care of guests in a different way. I want to tailor the experience to them and I want to predicate that experience on their privilege."

Wey says he'll ask guests to fill out a form that asks about race, gender, educational attainment, income, and mobility.

"Based on that, we're going to create a profile and we're going to create a menu for that individual. We want to present to you, in essence, what your privilege represents," he adds.

Further in his interview, Wey praises Malik Yakini of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network and FoodLab Detroit's Devita Davison, whose work he notes emphasizes community self-determination and a viable model of redevelopment.

"I also can see very clearly how destructive some of these other models are. So the dinner is about uplifting self-determination and having a conversation around self-determination as a tool for community transformation as opposed to relying on an exploitative, extractive, free-market system or relying on philanthropy that controls and dictates how money is spent and to whom it is given," Wey says.

[Richard]

Not in New Orleans but our lunch special is $5 ,jerk chicken,rice and beans and a side including a drink,it does not matter who you are it is the same price.

I guess we could relocate to the "White ereas" and charge more,but who cares,be fair with everybody and do not try to draw lines.

So in the future do we all get little badges that we wear on our shirt that shows our income so establishments that we visit can charge accordingly?

There is income inequality,has always been and there will always be but when an African American is put into a position to fix it,like the pharmaceutical CEO was who quit because he was upset about Charlottesville,it shows that once they make it they do not care.

He had in his hands the opportunity to help millions of inner city African Americans through the entrepreneurship and skills training program,and he walked because he was offended,millions left down so one could have his 15 minutes.

[SyGolden48236]

What an utterly asinine idea. A "restaurant" intends to inquire as to its patrons income, education level and race and adjust pricing accordingly? Discrimination is illegal and wrong.

If this schmendrick actually goes through with this idiotic idea perhaps reaching out to the Michigan Civil Rights Commission would be in order.

http://www.michigan.gov/mdcr/0,4613,...3171--,00.html

I hope this concept fails miserably and quickly. There is no place for this nonsense in today's world.

[One Shot]

Wow
Once again imagine if it were the other way around.

[Zads07]

Ok for those pissed, you now know what it feels like to be segregated based on your race. Now use this as a teaching tool to treat others the way you want to be treated. I think this is a fantastic idea that will not only enrage racists but also make many intellectual people think about how racism is still very much a part of today's society. Instead of getting mad about it, learn about it.

[Zacha341]

I love revenge politics!

[SyGolden48236]

Ok for those pissed, you now know what it feels like to be segregated based on your race. Now use this as a teaching tool to treat others the way you want to be treated. I think this is a fantastic idea that will not only enrage racists but also make many intellectual people think about how racism is still very much a part of today's society. Instead of getting mad about it, learn about it.

Get off your high horse. Quit preaching and calling other people racist. That word is severely overused these days. I have always regarded others in the manner that I wish to be treated. The only racism in this instance is on the part of the "restaurant" operator.

I hope that fool actually goes through with his moronic idea for this concept. I will be looking for this place to open. My wife, who is black, and I will visit this "restaurant" separately and be certain to order the exact same meal and beverages. We will then document and compare our bills. If my bill is higher than hers we will initiate proceedings against the operator via the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. This will be fun.

Discrimination is patently wrong no matter which race is the victim of it.

[Honky Tonk]

I don't support racist segregationists so he won't be seeing any of my money. I hope someone files a lawsuit against this guy.

[Zacha341]

Yep! I agree. This practice teaches no one anything useful. If anything it breeds more division and animosity.

Perhaps some self-loathing type working out their 'white guilt' with fear and trembling will pay - with a hefty tip - bowing as they back out the exit door with their carry out! Personally, I don't trust the self-loather.

I figure once they 'snap' out of that they'll be the biggest white supremacist you'll ever find!

Discrimination is patently wrong no matter which race is the victim of it.

[Bham1982]

What if you're interracial? You pay $21? What about Asians and Hispanics?

I lean progressive, but never get this stuff. Everyone knows that black folks have gotten an extremely raw deal and it's incumbent to fix this. Weird demonstrations like this are distractions.

[Zacha341]

There's no end game to this if you follow the trajectory common to other revenge-politics driven actions. What happens if you are 2/3 black?

[MikeyinBrooklyn]

I am a free market advocate, and if someone wants to put their own money into a stupid idea, that is their business. I will note that there is no history of restaurants-as-social-activist experiments working out. They either lose a ton of money, or require subsidy from somewhere. After 9/11 a bunch of former WTC restaurant staff were hoodwinked into investing their peak productive years into a flopperooni called COLORS which was more or less a textbook example of how communism can't run a business.

I would note to Mr. Wey that there is a wealth gap between people in the world, but that gap is due to a host of factors not addressed by his restaurant. But if it makes him feel good to publicly wear his activism on his sleeve, and anyone wants to eat there, more power to them.

[middetres]

Get off your high horse. Quit preaching and calling other people racist. That word is severely overused these days. I have always regarded others in the manner that I wish to be treated. The only racism in this instance is on the part of the "restaurant" operator.

I hope that fool actually goes through with his moronic idea for this concept. I will be looking for this place to open. My wife, who is black, and I will visit this "restaurant" separately and be certain to order the exact same meal and beverages. We will then document and compare our bills. If my bill is higher than hers we will initiate proceedings against the operator via the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. This will be fun.

Discrimination is patently wrong no matter which race is the victim of it.

You don't have to go separately. Go with your wife and you both will still be charged a different price. That's the whole point of the exercise.

This is a pop-up with a message, not the grand opening of a hoped-for 30-year run. This isn't about turning the tables on white people. It's about bringing to light the baked-in privilege we benefit from with every interaction we make.

Having a black wife doesn't exonerate your white privilege. Can you honestly say you've never been witness to your wife's being treated differently/unfairly because of the color of her skin? I would even suspect you've been treated differently/unfairly when with her...again solely because of the color of her skin.

I know it's hurtful being called a racist when not self-identifying as such. But for one to deny reaping any benefit or privilege just for being white, then getting so defensive about it and not caring to learn about it makes it harder to rebuild our institutions without the layers and layers of racism built into them currently.

[Wesley Mouch]

Yep! I agree. This practice teaches no one anything useful. If anything it breeds more division and animosity.
...

Nobody requires you to go to his restaurant, or to like it, him, or his policies. I'm in favor of letting bigots discriminate, and letting his business succeed or fail based on his actions. But I think he's missing the boat if he doesn't adjust for gender. Somebody's gonna do that and take all his customers.

[Richard]

You don't have to go separately. Go with your wife and you both will still be charged a different price. That's the whole point of the exercise.

This is a pop-up with a message, not the grand opening of a hoped-for 30-year run. This isn't about turning the tables on white people. It's about bringing to light the baked-in privilege we benefit from with every interaction we make.

Having a black wife doesn't exonerate your white privilege. Can you honestly say you've never been witness to your wife's being treated differently/unfairly because of the color of her skin? I would even suspect you've been treated differently/unfairly when with her...again solely because of the color of her skin.

I know it's hurtful being called a racist when not self-identifying as such. But for one to deny reaping any benefit or privilege just for being white, then getting so defensive about it and not caring to learn about it makes it harder to rebuild our institutions without the layers and layers of racism built into them currently.

Not trying to be disrespectful but when you apply the all whites
are racist ,no matter what they say,are you including yourself?

Sometimes it is like the witch hunt days,some seem to want to tie everybody to the stake and force them to repent weather they are guilty or not.

[Richard]

Nobody requires you to go to his restaurant, or to like it, him, or his policies. I'm in favor of letting bigots discriminate, and letting his business succeed or fail based on his actions. But I think he's missing the boat if he doesn't adjust for gender. Somebody's gonna do that and take all his customers.

It would be interesting to see the numbers for the day and see just how many are crazy enough to pay $30 for lunch in order to prove an already well know point but does not resolve anything other then enriching the instigator.

[Zacha341]

Hah! How's about that, the more you know upfront then at least you can choose. Enter the issue of gender and he's cooked [[pardon the pun)!

Activism has it's place - I get that - but as I said I doubt this will help or change anyones mind.

Nobody requires you to go to his restaurant, or to like it, him, or his policies. I'm in favor of letting bigots discriminate, and letting his business succeed or fail based on his actions. But I think he's missing the boat if he doesn't adjust for gender. Somebody's gonna do that and take all his customers.

[Zads07]

Get off your high horse. Quit preaching and calling other people racist. That word is severely overused these days. I have always regarded others in the manner that I wish to be treated. The only racism in this instance is on the part of the "restaurant" operator.

I hope that fool actually goes through with his moronic idea for this concept. I will be looking for this place to open. My wife, who is black, and I will visit this "restaurant" separately and be certain to order the exact same meal and beverages. We will then document and compare our bills. If my bill is higher than hers we will initiate proceedings against the operator via the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. This will be fun.

Discrimination is patently wrong no matter which race is the victim of it.

You must be fun at dinner parties.

[Jason]

I think the first thing to point out is that this isn't an actual restaurant, it's a series of charity dinners, which cost $50 per ticket. I don't know if the money is going to a community group or of the money is just covering the costs of the event.

The New Orleans thing had black people paying $12, and white people having the option to pay either $12 or $30. Both groups were being charged $12, but one group had a "btw, this would be the price relative to average incomes if you were black" at the end.


I don't think the dinner will be particularly effective, because obviously the only people who would go already have their minds up. It's just a gathering of people congratulating themselves.

The New Orleans thing was better because it could make random customers think about an issue for a little bit, who might not have otherwise thought about it. It's still not the best comparison though, because it's taking a real stat, and trying to relate it to someone through their own personal perspective, but the customers themselves all have different incomes, so it's not really very tailored to their personal experience after all. The Detroit event does this by people filling out a more in depth form, but the Detroit event isn't getting passerbys.

[Richard]

I guess this could really open a whole new meaning to a theme restaurant.

Pay gap with women also,so women eat for $4.99 but their male friends eat for $60.

According to some my specialty would be an uneducated basis,uneducated eat for $5 and anybody with a collage degree pays $55.

A I have been denied my white privlage benefits,so the other whites that have been also denied theirs eat for $5 and the ones that collected on theirs pay $500 because that privlage entitles you to millions.

Completly pointless but think of all the free publicity.

[SyGolden48236]

You must be fun at dinner parties.

I was thinking the same thought about you this morning when I read your post. But I decided to take the high road and not express that thought. People would have said "is that the best you can come up with?"

[erikd]

Not trying to be disrespectful but when you apply the all whites
are racist ,no matter what they say,are you including yourself?

Sometimes it is like the witch hunt days,some seem to want to tie everybody to the stake and force them to repent weather they are guilty or not.

The concept of white privilege is simply an aknowledgement of the fact that, in many cases, black people are still treated differently than white people in American society. It is not a vilification of white people. It is not a claim that all white people are racists. It is not a call for white people to "repent weather they are guilty or not."

I do think that the term "white privilege" is somewhat of a misnomer though. Not being harassed or discriminated against because of your race isn't really a "privilege", but is rather just honoring the rights that we have set for the treatment of all people in our society. When those rights are violated for a certain segment of the citizenry, it isn't quite accurate to label that as a 'privilege' for the other citizens who are recieving normal treatment.

I think it would be much more productive to consider these issues in that context.

[CassTechGrad]

This has been done many times but the liberal college elites don’t like it when conservatives turn the table and use it to mock them.

By Tony Cantu, Patch Staff |
Oct 26, 2016 4:27 pm ET 'Affirmative Action Bake Sale' sparks racism protest
Tempers reached boiling point during a sale of baked goods at the University of Texas last week when the Young Conservatives student group attempted to sell cookies, varying prices according to race.

Dr. Gregory J. Vincent, of the UT Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, released this official statement:
“On Wednesday, the UT chapter of Young Conservatives of Texas [[YCT) held a bake sale on the West Mall, where they sold goods to students at varying prices based on their race and gender. Such methods are inflammatory and demeaning. Although it is their right to do so, it is deplorable that a few students took advantage of this open forum to direct negative sentiment toward their peers. Such actions are counterproductive to true dialogue on our campus, and it is unrepresentative of the ideals toward which our community strives.”

[Bham1982]

This has been done many times but the liberal college elites don’t like it when conservatives turn the table and use it to mock them.

I think it's more because it's a ridiculous false equivelance.

Whites weren't enslaved by blacks, mass lynched, raped, etc. and subject to significant structural and institutional disadvantages to this day. That's isn't a "liberal" perspective, it's reality.

[Honky Tonk]

I think it's more because it's a ridiculous false equivelance.

Whites weren't enslaved by blacks, mass lynched, raped, etc. and subject to significant structural and institutional disadvantages to this day. That's isn't a "liberal" perspective, it's reality.

Probably the best thing for you to do, Bham, is to organize a group of your white privileged friends, go there and have dinner. Maybe multiple times. Show everyone that you don't just talk the talk.