Hong Shing and Emile Wickham Resolve Racial Discrimination Incident
Hong Shing's new owner ensures profiling will never again occur
TORONTO, Nov. 21, 2018 /CNW/ - After heartfelt and frank discussions, Emile Wickham and Colin Li have come together and rectified a wrong that Wickham endured more than four years ago.
"I was devastated when I found out earlier this year that this had happened to Emile," said Li, proprietor of the family-owned Chinese restaurant Hong Shing. "This should never have happened but it has made me much more aware of how pervasive systemic racism is and how business policies can negatively impact the lived experiences of black patrons."
In 2014, Wickham went to Hong Shing for a birthday dinner. A policy that was meant to deter dine-and-dashes ? which had been plaguing Hong Shing for years ? inadvertently resulted in dining experience that left Wickham hurt and embarrassed.
Unbeknownst to Wickham, the policy required non-regulars to pre-pay for meals after midnight. Wickham and his friends, who are all black, were asked to pre-pay. Asked if this was necessary, the waiter reaffirmed his request.
The group realized the non-black patrons around them were not asked to pre-pay. They were upset and voiced their frustration. A refund was offered, but an explanation was not.
"This was a huge mistake on our part," said Li. "This situation made me realize how easily a business policy can be misapplied. Because of our failure, Emile had to expend far too much emotional and mental energy to make this right."
A year later, Wickham was still deeply troubled. He decided to lodge a racial discrimination complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal.
"Walking away from the restaurant that night I felt hopeless," said Wickham. "No recourse after the fact could fully address what had taken place but I was determined that I did not want it to happen to anyone else."
At the time of the incident, Hong Shing was owned by Li's parents. They are first-generation immigrants and do not speak English. As a result, they did not fully understand what was happening.
The Li's hired a lawyer, believing this would settle the matter.
The Li's only speak Cantonese. Their lawyer did not. Communication broke down, and their lawyer eventually resigned. They did not understand the lawyer's resignation notice and mistook it to mean that the case was settled.
Meanwhile, Wickham continued to pursue his complaint. The Tribunal eventually ruled that he was racially discriminated against.
At this point, Colin Li had taken over ownership of Hong Shing from his parents and was unaware that the complaint was ongoing.
The Li family is deeply sorry that they were unable to follow the Human Rights Tribunal's process, and that the incident happened in the first place.
Once he heard of the complaint, Li immediately took steps to ensure this kind of situation would never happen again. He removed Hong Shing's pre-pay policy, shortened the restaurant's operating hours and hired security to help prevent dine-and-dashes. He then reached out to Wickham to apologize and settle the complaint.
"What happened to Emile is horrible," said Li. "I've personally made sure that this kind of incident will never, ever, happen again."
Li has reached an amicable solution with Wickham and has committed to ensuring that all of Hong Shing's staff will participate in racial sensitivity training.
"From my very first chat with Colin it was clear that he was genuinely committed to adequately addressing my complaint in a manner that showed empathy to the hurt I experienced, and that he would ensure a similar event would never happen again," said Wickham.
SOURCE Hong Shing
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