For those of you that thought he days of Jim Crow and Segregation were dead back in the '60's with the signing of the CRA, you could be excused for not seeing this one coming.
Racism has always been present in our society, quietly lurking like an undiagnosed case of cancer - spreading from place to place, infecting those unaffected by it's pathogen as it goes. Growing up in the South, I had plenty of opportunity to be exposed to that brand of hate, to see the pain an anguish that it causes to the people that it's directed at.
But this...
There was a story on MSNBC this morning that just caught my breath when I saw it.
KXAN in Austin this morning put up a tweet that showed a sticker that had shown up in the window of several businesses in East Austin, a culturally diverse section of Texas' capital city. Whether intentional, or placed there as a joke, no one is laughing.
The labels, slapped on various storefronts, say: "Exclusively for white people. Maximum of 5 colored customers, colored BOH (Back of House) staff accepted."
This. Is. Absurd.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler condemned the stickers Wednesday. The stickers feature an unauthorized use of the city's logo and a claim that the offensive statement is endorsed by officials.
If it's a joke, it's not a very good one.
Good on the City of Austin for noticing that stupid stuff like this needs to be quashed.