#BoycottWaffleHouse

Overview

#BoycottWaffleHouse is a hashtag used to catalogue a series of allegations of racism made towards the Waffle House restaurant chain. Following several high-profile incidents in which the police were called on black customers, many called for a boycott of the restaurant chain until the company changes its policies.

Background

Waffle House Prom Attendee Police Brutality Video

Waffle House Prom Attendee Police Brutality Video refers to the public reaction to a viral video of a man named Anthony Wall who was aggressively restrained by a police officer at a Waffle House in North Carolina. Wall, who had escorted his younger sister to prom earlier in the evening, was still in his formal wear during the incident.

On May 8th, 2018, Anthony Wall posted a video on Facebook ^[1] of himself being accosted by a police officer in the parking lot of a Waffle House in Warsaw, North Carolina. Wall, who had taken his younger sister to prom earlier in the evening, was still wearing his prom outfit in the video. He captioned the video, "This have to stop please help by share reporting to ever news report u know please." The post (shown below) received more than 3,800 reactions, 39,000 shares and 1 million views.

Chikesia Clemons Arrest

On April 22nd, 25-year-old Chikesia Clemons was arrested at a Waffle House, following a dispute over plastic cutlery. During the arrest, Clemons was wrestled the ground, exposing her breasts in the process. Officials claimed that Clemons was intoxicated at the time of arrest.^[7]

Waffle House Bill Dispute

On May 2nd, 2018, two Waffle House patrons claimed that they were overcharged $1.50 on their bill for a take out order. When they asked to have the bill altered, the Waffle House employees reportedly refused and requested the couple pay the bill. The police were soon called to force the couple to pay, and when they continued to refuse payment, the police handcuffed and charged the couple.^[2] The couple, reportedly, was given a full refund.

Developments

Body Camera Footage

On June 13th, 2018, Shaun King, a journalist for the Intercept, published body camera footage of the incident on Facebook, ^[2][3] showing the police arresting the couple and drawing their tasers on them. King commented on the video, "Here is the horribe body camera footage of this wrongful, illegal arrest at Waffle House. This Black couple was arrested for theft and trespassing." The post (shown below) received more than 4,400 shares, 5,800 reactions and 209,000 views in two days.

Online Reaction

In light of these incidents, as well as several reports of racism within Waffle House, people online began using the hashtag "#BoycottWaffleHouse" to spread the reports. For example, on May 1st, Twitter ^[4] user @WilkyBeKing commented on response to the incidents by Waffle House by pointing to a video in which a woman was locked out of the restaurant. They tweeted, "https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2018/04/27/video-shows-black-woman-locked-out-of-waffle-house/amp/ … you guys are a racist company, I don’t give a dam what ya say and I am ploy that all black people Refrain from spending their hard earned money at this races corporation. If you don’t like black people you won’t get our black dollars #BoycottWaffleHouse."

Following the June 13th video release, Twitter^[5] user @francismmaxwell tweeted, "When is @WaffleHouse going to close for anti-bias training? At this rate they'll need to close for several months to address this issue. How many times do their employees have to call the police on their customers before this company addresses it. Ridiculous. Over orange juice." The post (shown below, center) received more than 625 retweets and 1,500 likes.

That day, Twitter user @rowealicea tweeted (shown below, right), "Why are Black people still eating there? It’s clear the police are their security team! Arrested for disputing a difference is price,people& I mean everyone does that all day everyday!#BoycottWaffleHouse!"

Protests

Since the beginning of the incidents, people have begun protesting Waffle House for the behavior of the employees. On June 15th, activists protested at the company's headquarters in Alabama (shown below) in response to the arrest of Chikesia Clemons, who was tackled by police .^[6]

Search Interest

External References