>FYI
Abdoulaye
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>Dear USA Africa Dialogue Community,
>I forwarded Professor Ngugi Wa Thiongo’s email
>to the General Manager at the Hotel Vitale and
>pointed out that since several thousand people
>had just read the email, some comment should be
>made by management regarding the insult that had
>occurred. His reply is shown below. I
>certainly appreciated his quick response and his
>clear message that he personally does not tolerate racial prejudice.
>
>Yours truly,
>
>O.A. Ezekoye
>Professor and Graduate Advisor
>The University of Texas at Austin
>Department of Mechanical Engineering
>1 University Station, C2200
>Austin, TX 78712-0292
>512-471-3085
>FAX 512-471-1045
>
>----------
>From: Rachel Carlton
>[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Chip Conley
>Sent: Thursday, November 16, 2006 2:30 PM
>To: Ofodike A. Ezekoye
>Subject: Concerning Professor Ngugi wa Thiong'o
>and the Hotel Vitale & Americano restaurant
>
>November 15, 2006
>
>Dear Community Member,
>
>Prejudice still exists in America. It is real
>and palpable. While we’ve all witnessed
>superficial changes in America over the past
>four decades, the reality is that people
>“pre-judge” each other way too much, whether
>it’s based upon skin color, religion, sexual
>orientation, age, economic status, or some other
>factor that makes one “the other.”
>
>As one of the owners of the Hotel Vitale and
>Americano restaurant, I want to publicly
>apologize for the treatment Professor Ngugi wa
>Thiong’o received from one of our employees on
>November 10. While this employee has a good
>work history and worked quite closely with
>Willie Brown when he was doing his radio talk
>show in our circular lounge for nine months, the
>truth is that this employee “pre-judged” and
>disrespected the Professor by assuming he was
>not a guest in the hotel. Within a few minutes,
>when this employee was proven wrong, he was
>remorseful and ashamed and he has been put on
>leave from work as we review this matter
>further. What is troubling is that he, along
>with all of our employees, received mandatory
>diversity training, yet this incident still
>happened. I am deeply sorry for the offense
>this has caused Professor Ngugi wa Thiong’o and
>the community. I have spoken with the author
>escort for the Professor as well as the
>publisher’s publicity executive who is handling
>the author tour, who is helping connect me with
>the Professor so I can express my sincere apologies to him directly.
>
>This is a matter of great importance to me
>personally. I went to Long Beach Poly High
>School, one of finest inner city public high
>schools in America (famous for its
>African-American scholars, athletes, and
>artists) and one that I’m still active in
>supporting. I have a mixed race foster son who
>identifies as African-American. I am in a
>long-term relationship with an
>African-American. I am Finance Chair of the
>Reverend Cecil Williams’ Glide Memorial
>Church. My company has actively supported all
>kinds of programs from the Lorraine Hansberry
>Theater to the Hip-Hop Dance/Theater Festival
>and we’ve raised more than $2.5 million for the
>Tenderloin Afterschool Program during the last
>14 years since we created the annual Celebrity
>Pool Toss fundraiser. In sum, we have always
>tried our hardest to assure we are part of the
>solution, not part of the problem. That is why
>this incident is personally very troubling for
>me as we have created a diverse workforce that
>has high employee satisfaction and, relative to
>other companies, we have a grass roots track
>record of respecting our employees, our
>customers, and the community. Yet, clearly we
>are not perfect and we need to do better.
>
>Thank you for expressing your sadness, anger,
>surprise, and anguish. We are using it as a
>continuing “wake-up call” to assure that every
>one of our employees respects every single
>person they come into contact with – whether
>they are a customer or not. Every human
>deserves to be respected and acknowledged.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>[]
>
>
>Chip Conley
>Founder & CEO
>Joie de Vivre Hospitality
>
>
>
>
>Chip Conley
>Founder & CEO
>Joie de Vivre Hospitality
>567 Sutter Street
>San Francisco, CA 94102
>415.248.5940 direct
>415.835.0317 fax
><http://www.jdvhospitality.com>www.jdvhospitality.com
>
>
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