A group of black women said they felt “humiliated” after being kicked off a Napa Valley wine tasting train tour when a white woman complained that their laughter and loud voices were annoying her.
The 11 women were part of a book club that annually takes the trip through wine country, and say that while at times they might have been “rambunctious,” they were hardly “intoxicated or obnoxious,” and that they felt as though they were being “singled out” because they were black.
Forty-seven-year-old Lisa Renee Johnson documented the incident on social media, which she said began when a train manager said staff received several complaints about the level of their voices and to “keep it down.” A maître d’ also told the women they were making too much noise, and when asked who had complained, reportedly said “people’s faces are uncomfortable.”
“The train is set up to be with your friends, to drink wine and have a good time,” Johnson later said. “We were thinking, ‘Who are we offending?’”
A white woman in the same car as the book club reportedly became very annoyed with the women, telling them “this isn’t a bar,” despite the fact that the train tour’s primary purpose is to serve alcohol.
Facebook Family, we have a problem! We sipped wine, enjoyed each other’s company but our trip is being cut short…this…
Posted by Lisa Renee Johnson on Saturday, August 22, 2015
As Johnson recounted on Facebook, the women were told they were going to be taken off the train at the St. Helena station. Staff escorted the group past other passengers, and when they exited the train, were met by officers from the Napa Valley Railroad and St. Helena police departments.
“People were looking at us,” Johnson recalled. “To get escorted into the hands of waiting police officers. That’s the humiliating part.”
No charges were filed against the women, who, by the way, included this 83-year-old:
"How can you kick her off the train for being too loud????"
Posted by Lisa Renee Johnson on Saturday, August 22, 2015
Johnson said the group was willing to let the situation go after they were given a refund and were provided with a van to pick them up from the station, but then a representative from the Napa Valley Wine Train posted a message regarding the incident on Facebook.
Posted by Lisa Renee Johnson on Sunday, August 23, 2015
The post was quickly deleted, but not before Johnson screenshot it. A spokesperson for the company said it is “conducting an internal audit to make sure all of our policies were followed and options were offered.”
Johnson is not satisfied, however.
“They knew they were out of place,” Johnson told the San Francisco Chronicle, adding that she “wants a public apology for the humiliations they caused to us as professional women.”
Johnson’s account is backed up by other passengers who were on the train, and seems to have already taken a toll on the company’s reputation.