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A shop on downtown Savannah's Broughton Street was hit with backlash from Georgians after announcing that they were waiving an "appointment fee" for black/indigenous/people of color on Sunday, July 9th.
Civvies, the shop in question, made a now-deleted Facebook post that stated they would be requiring appointments to come down and shop, but that BIPOC would be exempt from that fee.
"As a mostly White staff with White ownership, we do not feel comfortable upholding a digital and financial barrier which could prevent BIPOC from shopping at our store at this time on top of the limitations already made by online booking," they included with the announcement.
Immediately, backlash showed up from folks claiming it was "racist."
Eventually, Civvies deleted their Facebook post at the request of their owners.
Civvies On Broughton/Facebook
Meanwhile, on Facebook, the backlash kept coming.
Civvies On Broughton/Facebook
Civvies On Broughton/Facebook
Civvies On Broughton/Facebook
Civvies On Broughton/Facebook
According to the store's manager, folks filed complaints with the Department of Labor as racist discrimination in Georgia because the policy "favors Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color."
"Obviously it is unfortunate to have thousands of people commenting and messaging us saying that they are going to sue us and have contacted the Department of Labor because this is a violation of their rights. We believe that what we are doing is within the confines of the law."
Civvies On Broughton/Facebook
Civvies On Broughton/Facebook
Civvies On Broughton/Facebook
Civvies On Broughton/Facebook
As racism is a systemic problem that sets up a system in which White people benefit, calling this policy "racist" is inaccurate.
The store has made no further comment on the backlash at this time.