A state panel on Thursday upheld its decision that a Cincinnati landlord, who claimed a black girl's hair products clouded an apartment complex's swimming pool, discriminated against the child by posting a "White Only" sign poolside.
The Ohio Civil Rights Commission voted 4-0 against reconsidering its finding from last fall. There was no discussion.
The group found on Sept. 29 that Jamie Hein, who is white, violated the Ohio Civil Rights Act by posting the sign at a pool at the duplex where the teenage girl was visiting her parents.
An
investigation revealed that Hein in May posted on the gated entrance to
the pool an iron sign that stated "Public Swimming Pool, White Only,"
the commission statement said.
Several
witnesses confirmed that the sign was posted, and the landlord said that she posted it because the girl used chemicals in her hair
that would make the pool "cloudy," according to the commission.
The girl's father, Michael Gunn, spoke briefly Thursday, describing his shock last spring when going out for a lunch break by the pool.
"My first reaction to seeing the sign was shock, disgust and outrage,"
Gunn said. He also told the commission that her daughter was saddened
months later to learn they moved from the apartment complex "was in a
way related to the color of her skin." Gunn declined to speak with
reporters.
Hein has repeatedly
declined to comment and did not attend the hearing. Messages were left
at her lawyer's office Wednesday and Thursday.
"I was trying to protect my assets," she told the commission's housing enforcement director in a Sept. 27 interview.
Racial discrimination has particular resonance in Cincinnati, whose population is 45 percent black, far higher than the rest of Ohio, which is about 12 percent black. Surrounding Hamilton County is 26 percent black.
Cincinnati
was the scene of race riots in April 2001 police and demonstrators
clashed in a blighted neighborhood following the shooting of a black
suspect by police.
The
commission's statement said that its investigation concluded that the
posting of such a sign "restricts the social interaction between
Caucasians and African-Americans and reinforces discriminatory actions
aimed at oppressing people of color."
The
case is to be referred to the Ohio attorney general's office, which
would represent the commission's findings before an administrative law
judge. That judge would determine any penalties, which could include a
cease-and-desist order and punitive damages.
It still would be possible for the parties to reach a settlement before resorting to legal action.
Any decision by the administrative judge could be appealed to Hamilton County Common Pleas Court in Cincinnati.
- Michael Gunn, left, of Cincinnati holds a picture of a sign that his landlord, Jamie Hein allegedly posted in May 2011.
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It's 2012 and this is the type of bullshit that still exists? Is this bitch mental for putting a sign up like that?
ReplyDeleteAgreed!
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