"Dining while black": tipping as social artifact.

In a study focusing on the leisure-travel experiences of black Americans, Willming found that 76 percent of the 131 people she surveyed reported some form of "rejection, harassment, threats, or verbal or physical attacks simply because of race" while eating in sit-down restaurants. Furthermore, 51 percent of those surveyed reported racial discrimination in the hotel or motel restaurants they visited, and 46 percent reported perceived discrimination while dining at fast-food restaurants. (18) A 1997 Gallup poll analyzed by the Urban Institute indicated 21 percent of black Americans had encountered race-based discrimination while dining out in the previous thirty days. (19) Collectively, these reports support the colloquial term "dining while black," marked by racial discrimination that is similar to the experience of "driving while black" (being stopped and searched for spurious reasons), "shopping while black" (being harassed or followed by store employees), and "hailing (a cab) while black" (being refused ride service).

Restaurants' Regressive Racial Climate

While research on discrimination in restaurants has focused on the experiences of customers as targets of prejudice, we know of little research regarding restaurant personnel as instruments of discrimination--particularly in terms of their attitudes and actions. As we noted at the outset, much of the work on race relations and restaurant workers focuses on the practice of tipping within restaurants and how tipping practices are possibly related to restaurant workers' perceptions, attitudes, and treatment of black Americans. (20)

Servers' a priori perceptions of tipping differences have been thought to be one possible explanation for discrimination against black American customers. Those servers who believe that black Americans do not tip well may then provide inferior service to black customers, which then in turn leads to lower tips--in a self-fulfilling prophecy. (That is one thesis presented by Lynn and Thomas-Haysbert.) Potential tipping differences aside, understanding the interpersonal and organizational rituals that govern the dining experience of black Americans may help to better explain discrimination on the part of some restaurant personnel.

An examination of the tipping.org Web site reveals that restaurant workers have much to say about restaurant race relations, particularly in conjunction with tipping habits. Notable threads are posted under headings such as "Minorities Don't Tip: True or False?" and "Why Don't the Majority of Black People Tip?" Such threads draw hundreds of candid responses that allege specific tipping behavior by black Americans in comparison to white Americans, as well as additional groups of Americans of color and international diners. Many of those who write negatively about black Americans are quick to explain that they are not "racist" or "prejudiced," even though they often say things that are indeed just that. (21)

Backstage Race Talk

As the discourse at the tipping Web site suggests, many restaurant workers rely on stereotypical knowledge schemas to guide their treatment of black Americans as customers. Many of the threads focus on racial stereotypes regarding tipping behavior, the shared understanding of and language used by white American restaurant workers regarding restaurant race relations, and the justification for differential and discriminatory treatment given to black American customers. As stated above, if restaurant personnel believe that black Americans tip less and are therefore less deserving of equal service, servers may give inferior service in the first place, thus eliciting the very tipping practices they abhor. (22) Poor tips become a confirmation of the servers' personal beliefs and contribute to the shared organizational knowledge. The cycle is perpetuated when existing servers' perceptions of their experiences generate a discourse that helps to shape incoming employees' belief structures.

The self-perpetuating nature of stereotypes has been studied both cognitively (23) and through private discourse. (24) Our research here relies on private discourse, such as what one would find in the (backstage) discussions among restaurant workers. Private discourse exists with relative selectivity and is negotiated within a restaurant lexicon that involves the coding of events, people, and beliefs. Research on private discourse and racial language by van Dijk suggests that both work to shape prejudice and discrimination. (25) As Myers and Williamson's work on backstage "race talk" suggests, individuals frequently make derogatory and stereotypical remarks about black Americans through shared backstage or private discourse among other white Americans. (26)

Backstage Race Relations

The responses by restaurant personnel at the tipping Web site highlight many current themes in racial and ethnic relations. "Old-fashioned" forms of racism, involving overt discrimination and open expression of anti-black attitudes and opinions, are now being disguised in more subtle forms of "modern racism" that involve the tacit expression of a racist belief system coupled with an abating acceptance of negatively expressed attitudes. (27) Many white Americans have become quite adept at presenting themselves as nonprejudiced individuals while still harboring many racist and stereotypical notions regarding race relations and black Americans. (28)

The notion of a "frontstage" and a backstage presentation of oneself has evolved into the concept of frontstage and backstage racism. (29) Similar to the idea of "aversive racism" that characterizes "the racial attitudes of many whites who endorse egalitarian values land] who regard themselves as nonprejudiced, but who discriminate in subtle, rationalizable ways," (30) the frontstage and backstage racism framework posits that individuals are adept at negotiating a nonprejudiced and socially appropriate frontstage presentation but may be more likely to reveal an openly prejudiced and racist self in a backstage setting that serves as a "safe space" for racist sentiment and action. (31) These ideas suggest that racial attitudes have become increasingly complex and nuanced in the sense that many prejudiced individuals will outwardly agree with egalitarian social and racial norms while actively avoiding their internalization. (32)

Examining the racial language and rituals that exist as part of the "everyday" thread of race relations in the restaurant is important, as people of color are often targets of negative and prejudicial stereotypes and suffer in multiple ways from interpersonal and organizational discrimination. (33) In an attempt to understand the individual and organizational purveyors of such discrimination, this study examines white American restaurant workers' knowledge of the rituals, processes, and language that govern the hiring and dining experiences of black Americans.

Interviewing Restaurant Employees

Sixteen white restaurant workers, thirteen women and three men, were interviewed for this study. Their ages ranged from nineteen to forty-six. All participants had worked in at least one table-service, chain restaurant or were currently doing so; work experience ranged from two months to twenty-five years. Participants worked in various parts of the United States, with most working in the southeast. The majority of the participants were college educated, with approximately half working while also attending college.

Procedure. In-depth interviews were conducted with the respondents. Located through personal contacts via phone, email, or in person while dining in restaurants throughout Florida, candidates were asked whether they would be willing to participate in a study on restaurant workers and restaurant race relations. Interviews were conducted at the location, date, and time of participants' choosing--usually in their homes. Two interviews were conducted at a quiet coffee shop, and three interviews were conducted in a room reserved at a university campus. Interview lengths spanned from twenty-five to ninety minutes. Informed consent and demographic information were collected from all participants. Interviews were audiotaped and later transcribed.

Participants were asked to describe their restaurant work experience, their knowledge of discrimination policies and diversity training in their restaurant(s), information about the racial composition of employees and customers, and their knowledge or perceptions about hiring practices. Participants were asked about the interpersonal aspects of their positions including how they would describe the "racial climate" of the restaurant(s); what they thought about black Americans' reports of discrimination; their perceptions of tipping across race, class, and gender lines; whether they could recall possible race-related language or incidents; and how they felt race was handled (in a general sense) at their place(s) of employment. If a given participant had work experience at more than one restaurant, she or he was asked to describe each restaurant in separate, distinct terms. Transcribed interviews were then analyzed using a grounded-theory framework. (34)

Racial Divides in Restaurant Employment

To clearly capture the underlying interpersonal and organizational rituals and processes related to the black American restaurant experience in hiring and dining, we first present the results related to the broad business context as experienced by participants, and then we delve into the frontstage and backstage interactions that serve as the framework for understanding the individual and institutional practices that govern black Americans' experiences in restaurants.