Feeling disheartened: Racism in the Workplace

 Hey guys, 

So this happened last summer and I originally did not want to talk about this because it's in the past, but I think it's important to realize how normalized racism in the workplace is. 

Last summer, I worked at a small sushi restaurant in town. If you're from La Crescenta, you probably know the place. Super small, has weird soy sauce. I wanted a summer job to earn some extra cash. It was my second day on the job and I was nervous but excited. I was finally working! 

Near the end of my shift, two women came into the store. They were noticeably Korean and when I heard them speaking in Korean, I thought I might as well assist them in their language as I was fluent. They seemed to appreciate the help and I was helping them with their order when a woman in the restaurant said loudly that our 'Ching chong' language was bothering her. She said something along the lines of how our language made her lose her appetite and how this is America and we should be speaking English. How ironic is that statement? She's at a Japanese Sushi restaurant. 

But I was in a state of shock. The two customers knew that something was wrong from my expression, but whispered to each other in Korean, 'what's happening?' I felt embarrassed. I should have told the customer that they were wrong and that we have the right to refuse service to anyone. I should have said that I do not tolerate racism or xenophobia. I'm so tired of the model minority myth. Asians aren't exempt from racism. Far from it--it's so normalize that people don't even recognize it anymore. 

So what did I do? 

I did nothing. 

I helped the customers. I cried in the backroom. I called the manager. The woman demanded a refund and the manager reluctantly gave it to her. At the end of my shift, I was fired. 

It is only a few days later that I started to feel angry about the issue. I did nothing wrong. I faced harassment from a customer and was fired for it. I did my job well and I shouldn't have gotten fired. The customer should have been reprimanded by being refused service. Instead, my manager added insult to injury. 

I called small claims courts and lawyers to learn more about my rights, and that's the primary reason I started this club. To summarize, I want you to all know that you aren't alone. Most of us teens work in minimum wage jobs, where scrutiny for workplace violations is close to zero. But you aren't alone. And together, we can stand strong and spread awareness about the issues that affect us so viciously.