Senator Vincent Hughes is working with the “Grandview 5” to hold golf club ownership responsible for an incident of discrimination that made national news.
The incident involved five African American women who said they were discriminated against based on their race or gender: Sandra Thompson, Myneca Ojo, Sandra Harrison, Carolyn Dow and Karen Crosby. They were playing golf on April 21 at Grandview Golf Club in Dover Township when they say club ownership and staff told them they were not playing fast enough and called police.
“I will not stand by and watch people be discriminated against for any reason,” Senator Hughes said. “Pennsylvanians do not tolerate the behavior we saw at Grandview and we must thoroughly investigate any instance of discrimination. We can’t let this story die and we have to keep pressure on the golf course and local officials.”
The Pennsylvania Human Relations has also announced it has approved an investigatory hearing into a reported incident of discrimination at Grandview Golf Course in York County.
Senator Hughes was joined by Senators Jay Costa (D-Allegheny), Anthony Williams (D-Delaware/Philadelphia), Larry Farnese (D-Philadelphia), Wayne Fontana (D-Allegheny), John Blake (D-Lackawanna/Luzerne/Monroe), Judy Schwank (D-Berks), Daylin Leach (D-Delaware/Montgomery), Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia), Art Haywood (D-Philadelphia/Montgomery), Christine Tartaglione (D-Philadelphia), James Brewster (D-Allegheny/Westmoreland), and Andrew Dinniman (D-Chester) all of whom endorsed the letter, which called for $1 million in additional funding to the Commission.
The funding increase would allow the Commission to increase its staff and help it to promptly investigate the complaints received. Senate Democrats recently asked for funding to combat workplace sexual harassment and discrimination as a part of the Commission’s 2018-2019 budget.