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‘We Don’t Tip Black People’: Virginia Waitress Receives Racist Note From Young Couple

By Rahul Srinivas
Published on: 09:23 PST, Jan 10, 2017

In yet another case of blatant racism, Kelly Carter, a waitress in Virginia, was recently refused a tip by a couple just because she was black. According to a BBC News report, Carter, who is employed at Anita’s restaurant in Ashburn, Virginia, was handed over a receipt with the following message written on it.

“Great service. Don’t tip black people.”

According to BBC News, the message was written at the bottom of the receipt. The customer had also drawn a slash through the gratuity line on the $30.52 receipt. While Kelly Carter was not really concerned about missing out on a tip, she was shocked at the obnoxious attitude of the couple, whose identity has not been revealed as of this writing. Carter said she was left in disbelief when she read what was written on the receipt.

“I looked at the receipt three times,” Kelly Carter told local radio station WTOP.

Kelly Carter was initially surprised to see the note because both the diners seemed happy with her service. In fact, Kelly said one of them had even complimented the breakfast she served to them. While Carter herself did not want any attention over the event, the incident was noted by other regular customers who were in the restaurant at the time. They clicked pictures of the receipt and shared it on social media networks.

The image of the message on the receipt was later shared by the Loudoun County NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) on its official Twitter account, after which the incident went viral. The NAACP also said that that the tweet was sent out after they confirmed the incident was true. The NAACP had contacted both Kelly and the restaurant manager to confirm if the incident did, in fact, happen.

Further confirmation of the incident came from Thomas Tellez, the president of Anita’s restaurant chain, who confirmed that same to a local publication, the Loudoun Times-Mirror.

“It’s real. It did happen,” Thomas was quoted as saying.

In a separate interview with Fox 5 DC News, he described the incident as “appalling and outrageous,” adding that he had never seen or experienced anything like this during his 42 years of running the family restaurant. He also had nothing but praise for Carter and said that she handled the incident very well.

“It’s just appalling, disheartening, outrageous ? all of the above,” he said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWyfhSJm1Gg

The incident, which reportedly happened last Saturday, was denounced by Will Estrada, Loudoun’s Republican chair. A few hours after the tweets and Facebook posts about the incident went viral, several commenters on social media claimed that the entire story could be fabricated and that the note on the receipt was fake. Some users noted that the handwriting on the note didn’t match the signature above it.

Nevertheless, waitress Kelly Carter has received tremendous support from people across the country after the incident went viral. The restaurant has been receiving a steady stream of visitors since the incident, with some people asking for Carter to serve them. Customers also left generous tips for her. Many people simply visited the restaurant to meet Carter and offered her generous amounts of money. This is apart from more than $2,000 raised for her using a YouCaring page.

When asked how she would react if Kelly saw the couple again, she said she would be happy to serve the once again.

“Just me serving them will let them know they did not get the best of me. And I truly mean that” Kelly told BBC News.

Kelly further added, “He only makes me stronger. One hateful remark cannot stop me. My arms are still opened to him.”

The couple who left the note is reported to be still in their 20s.

[Featured Image by Peter Dejong/AP Images]

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