A Friday night in Birmingham, Alabama quickly took a turn for the worse when Aireal Bonner experienced what many have labeled as discrimination.
Bonner was visiting Southern Kitchen & Bar when her outfit drew unwanted attention from the restaurant staff.
In response, they kicked her out of the establishment over an alleged violation of their dress code.
Bonner believes that her clothing wasn’t the issue and started to capture video footage of the incident on her phone.
Bonner then took to Facebook with the video of the incident, labeling the establishment as “racist”.
Bonner’s video shows an exchange between herself and an employee of Southern Kitchen & Bar.
According to Opposing Views, she was offered a shirt at no cost but asked to put it on over her crocheted top, which the restaurant claimed was a “bikini top” and not appropriate for its atmosphere.
When she refused to cover up, she says that she was threatened with police involvement if she did not leave immediately.
After asking where the dress code was posted, the employee told her it didn’t need to be since it is a privately owned business.
According to reports, this prompted Bonner to ask for owner himself come out and tell her that she had violated their dress code policy before leaving peacefully.
Instead, she claims that he chose to threaten law enforcement against her instead.
Bonner then shared a video on social media and accused them of slut-shaming and racism for making her feel uncomfortable in her own skin.
When speaking with CBS 42 after the incident, she repeated these claims stating that race played an undeniable role in this encounter due to how Afro-centric her hair is styled and clothes are cut.
The public response has been overwhelming for both sides – those who believe that racism should never be tolerated and those who think businesses should have complete control over how they present themselves publicly.
The group Alabama Rally Against Injustice scheduled a sit-in protest at the restaurant claiming there were pictures of other women wearing similar clothing on their social media page.
However, none could be found when searched for online or on their Yelp page which had since been taken down due to all negative reviews from customers like Bonner asking others not to eat there due to its alleged discrimination practices.
The restaurant attempted to remedy the situation by offering an apology to Bonner:
“We regret interrupting Ms. Bonner’s dinner and understand that would make anyone feel uncomfortable,” the statement said, adding that it was “establishing more rigid protocols” in the implementation of its policy, including addressing any issues at the door. “We have done and will continue to do the work to ensure our restaurant is a place where all feel welcome.”
Bonner, however, refused to accept the apology, saying that “The apparent ‘apology’ statement for the TIMING on when I was confronted about a nonexistent dress code is as I said before…LAUGHABLE.”
Ultimately however it is up for everyone else decide whether it was racism or just an innocent misunderstanding based off Bonner’s clothing choice alone.