“White friends…respectfully asked not to attend.â€
By Raif Karerat
A yoga studio in Seattle stands accused of racial discrimination after holding special sessions which explicitly exclude “whites.â€
The class reportedly welcomes people of any body shape, size, gender, or yoga experience, according to an email blast received by a KIRO listener.
“Lesbian, bisexual, gay, queer and trans-friendly/affirming,†and identifies which “people of color†are permitted, such as “African American/black/of the African Diaspora, Asian, South Asian, West Asian/Arab/Middle Eastern, Pacific Islander, First Nations/Alaskan Native/Native American/Indigenous, Chicano/Latino, or Multiracial/Mixed-Race.â€
“White friends, allies and partners are respectfully asked not to attend,†the email, which the KIRO radio host Dori Monson says was also sent to him by the listener, specifically states.
Teresa Wang, one of the co-founders of the class, was asked what were to happen if a white person were to attend by MyNorthwest.com.
“Well, it’s a class for people of color, so he would be coming to that class knowing that we’re really clear about who we are asking to come to class, so…I’m not really sure because it hasn’t happened to us,†Wang said, who iterated the class was about making “people of color†feel comfortable. “So I don’t really know.â€
Monson now plans to hold Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson to the promise that he would go after any business that discriminates against a specific group of people.
“Now we’re gonna find out if my instincts about the attorney general and about our state government [are right] — using the power of government to go after the Christian florist in the Tri-Cities who didn’t want to do the gay wedding ceremony. Will they also go after the yoga studio that discriminates against people based on their skin color?” he said.