Black Hair Prompts a "White Only" Sign?

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You know, I thought Jim Crow was over.

But a landlord in Cincinnati apparently wants to bring it back, according to a story I saw on ABCNews.com. And wouldn't you know it, hair has something to do with it.

Sigh.

I don't know whether to cry or get super pissed. Right now, I'm leaning heavily towards super pissed!Seems that a Ohio landlord who is Caucasian put up a "White only" sign at her swimming pool. The sign is from 1931, and is purportedly an antique.

But antique isn't the reason why Jamie Hein, 31, erected the sign, which says, "Public Swimming Pool, White Only."  Reportedly, the sign was erected after an African American girl who was the daughter of one of Hein's tenants, used the pool on Memorial Day weekend.

According to the girl's father,  Michael Gunn, Hein put the sign up because the pool was "cloudy" because the girl's had chemicals in her hair. Now, I don't know about any chemicals, but I can tell you that girl probably had conditioner in her hair to protect it from the chlorine; I do my girls the same way.

My daughters have swam in plenty a pool. And each time, their hair is loaded up with conditioners and oils -- or whatever I think will block chlorine out. I dare someone to demand anything to me about their hair and the pool; that foolishness deserves no explanation, no rationale.

But that's what pool cleaners are for, right?

This isn't about hair; it's about racism towards people -- Black people.

Hein is unapologetic, saying that the sign is an antique decoration.

“I’m not a bad person,” said Jamie Hein of Cincinnati. “I don’t have any problem with race at all. It’s a historical sign.”

Gunn has filed a discrimination charge with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.

You know, stories like this don't deserve any ink. But, they are a painful and stark reminder.

I could have sworn it was 2011, not 1911.

The woman has every right, no matter how uncouth and backward, to put up a sign on her public property.

But let me tell you what she can't do: It is against the National Fair Housing Act to show bias to tenants based on race, nationality, sexuality, family status, gender or disability. And that applies to any landlord -- whether it's an apartment, a commercial property or a residential property.

Hein's property is private, yes.

But she is renting it out to tenants -- which makes this a Fair Housing Act violation all day long.

How can a landlord erect that "white only" sign, and not expect for residents who aren't white to feel intimidated by that sign? She can put a sign up in her home with this racist mess all day long. But what she can't do is put it up in a home that's rented to tenants.

Gunn moved out in June.

Stuff like this makes me pissed. Call Rev. Al, Jessie Jackson,whoever you gotta call, cuz this is some bull right here. Act a fool if you want, but guess what? You are gonna get sued. I'm convinced that suing someone, especially in the litigious society we live in, is the only way things will change when it comes to race relations.

Folks won't play nice. A judgment or two will make folks wise up quick -- real quick. I'm the last to do Cum By Ya, trust that. Throw the word "lawsuit" around and folks do right. Let's fight ignorance and racism with the law -- one of the only weapons we have left.

And, she just gave investigators what they wanted -- she admitted that the sign was up, saying that it had nothing to do with Gunn's daughter.

"I’ve never said anything to that child,” Hein said. “If I have to stick up for my white rights, I have to stick up for my white rights. It goes both ways.”

Really?

Makes me want to say this ish can't be real. Hair is one thing; that's what started this mess. But to put up a "White only" sign is something all together different.

In Sept., the Ohio Civil Rights Commision found Hein violated the Ohio Civil Rights Act by posting the sign.

Which, by the way, was stolen.

Hein is appealing the decision.

What she wouldn't be appealing, would by the plethora of National Fair Housing Act lawsuits that need to be heaped on her. This is a fair housing case, and should be treated as such, as well as any other civil, state and federal statues they can conjure up.

Hey, I'm no attorney, but I am certified in the National Fair Housing Act (long story, but had to complete it for social media marketing work I did for apartment property management companies).

Put the "White Only" sign up if you want to. Just know you will get sued.