Seattle Office for Civil Rights partners with ROC United to celebrate Seattle restaurant owners
July 26, 2021
The Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United, in partnership with the Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR), released a report in July 2020 called “The Great Service Divide: Occupational Segregation, Inequality, and the Promise of a Living Wage in the Seattle Restaurant Industry,” which highlighted the disparities in racial equity and segregation in Seattle restaurants.
The report led to an event, “Paying Tribute to Seattle ‘High Road’ Restaurant Owners,” which will pay tribute to Seattle-based restaurant owners who continue to practice sustainable racial equity models that champion living wages, essential benefits, fair promotion policies, and safety guidelines, most notably for workers of color. Initially planned during the release of the report, production was delayed due to the pandemic. “Paying Tribute to Seattle ‘High Road’ Restaurant Owners” takes place on July 29, 2021, 3:00pm PST.
The event features:
- Dr. Sekou Siby, President and CEO, ROC United
- Mariko Lockhart, Director, Seattle Office For Civil Rights
- Erika White, Owner, Fat’s Chicken and Waffles
- Geetanjali Vailoor, Owner, Union Coffee
- Kristi Brown, Owner, Communion Restaurant & Bar /That Brown Girl Cooks!
- Gina Tolentino, Owner, Bar Del Corso
- Jordan Brown, Assistant producer, Racial Equity Project / former server
- Gabriele Brownstein, Server
- Megan Krantz, Teaching artist / former server