Samantha Moore had finally returned home from her deployment in Afghanistan. Stepping out of the airport, she immediately spotted a nice restaurant amid the city hustle. Its warm glow and delicious smells drew her in. “That’s tomorrow’s breakfast sorted,” she thought, mentally bookmarking it. Little did she know, fate had a surprise waiting for her there the next morning....𝐑̲𝐄̲𝐀̲𝐃̲ 𝐅̲𝐔̲𝐋̲𝐋̲ 𝐀̲𝐑̲𝐓̲𝚰̲𝐂̲𝐋̲𝐄̲ 𝐅̲𝐑̲𝐎̲𝐌̲ 𝐓̲𝐇̲𝐄̲ 𝐒̲𝐎̲𝐔̲𝐑̲𝐂̲𝐄̲
Refreshed from a good night’s sleep, she remembered her promise to herself about trying the beautiful restaurant she’d spotted earlier. She dressed casually, like any other civilian, wanting to blend in and experience the simple pleasure of being just another person in the crowd. In less than 15 minutes, Samantha arrived at the restaurant’s entrance. Looking around, she noticed that many tables and chairs were unoccupied. “Good,” she thought, believing she was about to enjoy a calm and relaxing meal
She selected a table and sat down, expecting the waiter to attend to her soon. However, after waiting for over five minutes without any service, Samantha realized that something was amiss. She observed other patrons receiving attention from the waitress, but she was left unattended. Sitting up straighter, Samantha surveyed the restaurant scene. She noticed the waitress assisting a nearby couple. What caught her off guard was the disdainful expression on the waitress’s face when their eyes met. Samantha wondered if perhaps the couple was being difficult, causing the waitress’s discomfort.
Yet, when she attempted to signal the waitress, things took an unexpected turn. Despite clearly waving her hand, the waitress glanced at her disrespectfully, rolled her eyes, and walked away without acknowledging her presence. This was all new to Samantha, and she couldn’t exactly place what was going on and why the waitress seemed so rude. It made her feel uncomfortable, but she remained calm, hoping to address the waiter when she came to take her orders.
Looking around, the woman was the only waiter there, so it was odd that she hadn’t noticed her calling for her attention for so long. All Samantha wanted was to have a good time and a good meal, and so she couldn’t understand why the waitress was suddenly ignoring her while attending to the other customers. For 20 minutes, she watched the waitress ignore her and pass by her table to serve other customers. Finally, the moment came when the waitress attended to a customer right beside Samantha. This was when she seized the opportunity to call for help again.
However, the soldier was in for a rude awakening. When she called out to the waitress, she was met with apprehension and a look of annoyance. “Is there a problem?” the waitress, whose name tag read Sandra, asked impatiently. Samantha was taken aback and felt a mix of surprise and irritation. Why would the waitress respond in that manner to a customer? She tried her best to maintain her composure, drawing on her military training to handle tense situations and remain calm under pressure. She refused to let the rude waitress dampen her excitement for the day she had planned, even if Sandra’s behavior threatened to spoil her mood.
Just as she began to ask the waitress to take her order, Sandra rudely interrupted. “They no longer had any food to serve,” she said, which was ridiculous since she had been serving food to other customers for nearly half an hour and was still taking orders.
Still exercising patience and trying not to lose it at Sandra’s blatant disrespect, Samantha pointed out that everyone else was still getting food. Sandra clearly didn’t care as she slowly shrugged with a look of disdain on her face. What she said next nearly knocked Samantha off her feet. With a fierce look in her eyes, the waitress loudly said to the soldier, “Don’t you understand? We don’t serve your kind here.
Suddenly, the restaurant grew quiet, and Samantha could feel all eyes on her in a very devastating moment of humiliation. But what exactly did the waitress mean by “her kind”? She was well-dressed and looked like she could afford a decent meal, so what could it be that made her different from every other customer in the restaurant? Looking around, it then dawned on her. How had she not noticed? She was the only person of color in the restaurant. Everyone else was Caucasian except for her. It was now very obvious that the waitress’s comment was racist, and she meant that she had been ignoring her all this time simply because she was black.
Samantha’s stomach churned not just from hunger but from the injustice she was facing in real-time. The waitress’s words cut deep into her as she reflected. She, a decorated soldier who’d sacrificed her life countless times for her country, was degraded so carelessly simply because of the color of her skin. Samantha had never been so angry, and at the same time, she had never felt so humiliated. It was too much for her to handle. However, she knew what to do right away. She would demand to see the manager of the restaurant and report the behavior of the waitress to her.
Sandra didn’t seem worried at all at the request. She confidently called for the manager, who strolled into the diner curiously. As Samantha angrily started to report the incidents that had just occurred, she was cut short by the manager, but not for the right reasons. Rather than apologize or condemn the waitress’s actions, Samantha was shocked to hear the manager double down. She yelled at her, accusing her of disrupting their peaceful enterprise and keeping other customers waiting. But that wasn’t the cherry on top. Samantha’s jaw dropped when another customer got up and told her to go “dine at a restaurant more suited to her kind.”
Even if she was angry and embarrassed, Samantha understood her worth and knew she didn’t deserve such treatment. If only they were aware of who she truly was, perhaps they would have treated her differently. She couldn’t believe some people were still racist to that extent. She also couldn’t believe that no one in the restaurant attempted to stand up for her too. It wasn’t possible to think that they were all racist, but her doubts were evidently cleared when she started walking towards the exit and someone yelled the word “monkey.”
Samantha fought to keep her cool as she left. She vowed to herself that she would be the last person to get discriminated against because of skin color at that restaurant. She made up her mind to come back the following day for revenge. However, she would have to fit that unpleasant task into her very busy schedule. The following morning, Samantha would be attending an award ceremony for her rank and work in the military. She didn’t know whether she would be able to go back to the restaurant after all. Perhaps forgetting all about that horrible ordeal would be better.
When she left the restaurant, she went to grab her breakfast somewhere else and spent the whole day relaxing like she’d planned, trying not to let that silly incident ruin her day off. The following morning, after receiving her award and meeting with the city mayor, Samantha made out to head home. However, something still weighed on her mind: the incident from the day before. She hadn’t been able to put it behind her. She had woken up with a sour taste in her mouth, and she knew it had nothing to do with her dinner. She knew she had to prove a point to those horrid racists. So, accompanied by her security detail, she asked her driver to take her to the restaurant.
The moment they arrived, she knew that her point had already been made as everyone in the restaurant stared outside in disbelief. Samantha stepped out of the car with the sharp and intimidating security personnel with her. Fully decked out in her uniform, she commanded so much attention and respect. It was hard to miss the way everyone smiled at them in awe and admiration. She was a soldier, after all, working for and serving her country. When she walked into the restaurant and locked eyes with Sandra, she saw realization dawn in the waitress’s eyes. The woman who had been rude to her just a day before froze in horror and regret.
Samantha was surprised when everyone in the restaurant got up and started giving her a round of applause. Confused at the gesture, she turned to the TV, where she saw her meeting with the mayor still being broadcast in the news. It all made sense now. An elderly woman rushed into the diner from the back of the restaurant and warmly approached Samantha with a smile on her face. She quickly introduced herself as Darlene, the second manager of the place, and profusely thanked the soldier for her service and hard work. She eagerly offered her a table and started snapping orders at Sandra to bring their finest meals.
Of course, Samantha was amused by the reception. The stark difference struck her. The only reason everyone was being kind to her compared to their first response was that they now knew who she was. She could have let things slide, but she wasn’t about to let a racist person go unpunished for their horrible behavior.
As Sandra tried to slip away into the back, Samantha called her name loud and clear. Everyone looked at the two women in confusion. Standing up, the decorated soldier turned to address everyone in the room. She began to audibly narrate the events that had unfolded in the same place just a day before, explaining how Sandra, the other manager, and even the customers had treated her.
Samantha pointed out the heartbreaking prejudice that she had faced. She explained that she hadn’t offended them or done anything wrong; all she wanted was a meal to celebrate her return home, and she’d been met with hostility that shook her to her bones. Glancing back at Sandra, Samantha shook her head in disappointment.
She was too hurt to speak any further. Her blood was burning with anger over the incident yesterday, and the men standing beside her as guards could feel the pain in Samantha’s voice as she spoke. She could recognize some of the customers from the day before, including the man who had called her a monkey when she left. The shame in his eyes told her everything she needed to know.
Samantha didn’t stop there. She continued to chastise the blatant racism that these people championed, drawing their attention to how incredibly unkind and ridiculous it all was. She wanted them to know that they were all the same—black, white, purple—humans were humans, and the hate was entirely uncalled for. She admitted that the only reason they had bothered to show her some respect was because she presented in her uniform as a soldier; otherwise, she could have simply been another random black woman who was discriminated against for no reason at all.
Darlene, the manager, seemed shocked to hear about Samantha’s encounter. She apologized profusely for the actions of her staff and even the customers, pleading with Samantha not to hold the establishment responsible for their horrid behavior. The elderly woman sparked a conversation on the topic, admitting herself that she had closely witnessed such injustices and was well aware that it was still common.
The woman revealed that she was a mom to two biracial kids with her black husband and had seen the contempt and racism they had to face while growing up. It broke her heart to discover that the same problems she sought to protect her family from were happening right under her nose. Determined, the manager apologized again and turned around. Right there on the spot, she fired Sandra and told her to leave and never come back.
The atmosphere was tense as people reflected on the harsh reality of the conversation just had. But Samantha lightened it up by thanking Darlene for her reception. When she walked out of the diner, she left feeling fulfilled at having started a very important conversation. That night, she ended the day believing that that encounter and topic were completely over.
Nothing could have prepared her for what happened the next day. She woke up in the morning to a message from her sister. It was a link to a video of herself dressed in her uniform and addressing the restaurant over the racism she’d experienced. Apparently, someone in the restaurant had been recording the whole scene and had posted it. Well, she was entirely taken by surprise. She was even more shocked by the traction that the video was getting.
What Samantha wasn’t expecting was for the post to go viral and for a lot of people in the online community who had faced serious discrimination at the same restaurant to also speak up about how they had been mistreated. In fact, there were even a few people who had actually had similar experiences at that same restaurant and other establishments in the area.
A lot of people shared their experiences, and soon they gathered momentum to start a movement against racism and proceeded to sue the restaurant, demanding that the place be shut down. Thousands of people shared their thoughts on the matter and their disdain for racism in the country. While Samantha felt very horrible about the restaurant’s fate, especially Darlene, who had been so kind to her, there wasn’t much she could do as the viral video sparked so much outrage.
Things continued to escalate, and eventually, word reached the city’s mayor, who then asked for Samantha’s visit to his office over the issue since she’d been the one to spark the conversation. The soldier did her best to explain her experience once again, still confused as to why the mayor had requested to see her about it. The mayor then revealed that he had gotten many letters from people all over the country in regard to the video at the restaurant. He found that they could bring out a positive learning experience from the otherwise unfortunate encounter.
The following day, with Lieutenant Colonel Samantha in attendance, the mayor addressed the city on national TV regarding the incident. They expressed their firm stance against racism and discrimination. The mayor demanded a public apology from the restaurant owner to all those who had faced discrimination there. True to the mayor’s orders, the restaurant owner publicly apologized and took measures to rectify the situation, stating that both staff members who had treated the soldier badly had been effectively fired.
After his apology, the outrage online and offline began to subside. Several months later, when Samantha returned to the city, she revisited the restaurant. This time she received proper service, and to her delight, she noticed a diverse group of people happily dining there. Samantha smiled, knowing she had somehow managed to make a positive impact…CONTINUE READING>>
