Ahead of a planned protest outside the bar at 76 Rainey St. on Friday, District 3 Council Member Pio Renteria released a statement condemning what many are calling sexist and racist comments made by the bar’s owner, Brandon Cash, that surfaced earlier this week.
“We are here, simply, to insist that our minority communities are treated with dignity,” Renteria said in a statement. “But we are also here to call for a boycott.”
“We are here, simply, to insist that our minority communities are treated with dignity. But we are also here to call for a boycott.”
District 3 Council Member Pio Renteria
Earlier this week, old comments attributed to Cash surfaced that showed Cash responding to online reviews in ways that offended people enough to stage a protest right outside its Rainey Street location. Cash issued a statement on Friday as a follow-up to an apology issued earlier this week.
“The recent community outrage has been a wake-up call for me personally,” Cash said. “I’ve witnessed the overwhelming anger in direct response to my deplorable conduct, and I want to assure everyone that I have taken it to heart. To the Austin community embarrassed by my actions and to those individuals I have personally offended, I apologize. I will be making immediate changes to our personal conduct and interactions with our patrons.”
Renteria said Cash’s words were not enough.
“We don’t want a forced apology attempting to pacify our anger,” Renteria said. “We don’t want to hear that Mr. Cash is just going to be a silent partner. We don’t want those empty words. This is not the end, but the beginning.
Read Renteria’s and Cash’s full Friday statements below:
Renteria:
“Afternoon, I’m glad to be joining with you here today. Over the last few days our friends and allies have come together to say loudly and with one voice that hate speech will not be tolerated in Austin.
We are here, simply, to insist that our minority communities are treated with dignity. But we are also here to call for a boycott.
People, like Brandon Cash, may think that because of your sex or the color of our skin we are less than them, that we have less value, but our money doesn’t. Our money spends the same as theirs. It has the same economic power, so I’m here this afternoon to ask that every Austinite stay away from this bar in protest. To not give it a dime of your money. Tell your neighbors and friends not to give Unbarlievable any of their money. We have to withdraw all of our collective economic support from this bar.
The fight for basic human dignity has always been a collective bargain. Individually none of us are rich, but together we can accomplish something big. So we must have a community boycott.
Now let me tell you what we don’t want. We don’t want a forced apology attempting to pacify our anger. We don’t want to hear that Mr. Cash is just going to be a silent partner. We don’t want those empty words.
This is not the end, but the beginning.
Our efforts are far from over. This is not the first time someone has insulted our communities and it will not be the last. Discrimination like this happens daily and many times goes unnoticed and unaddressed. Well, no longer will we accept that ugliness.
Let us have a unified community boycott to send a message not just to Brandon Cash, but to anyone who would discriminate against our communities. Austin, TX is a welcoming city. Here, we respect others and celebrate diversity. Austin is our home. It belongs to all of us. Your racism, your bigotry, and your hatred have no place here."
Cash:
“The recent community outrage has been a wake-up call for me personally. I’ve witnessed the overwhelming anger in direct response to my deplorable conduct and I want to assure everyone that I have taken it to heart. To the Austin community embarrassed by my actions and to those individuals I have personally offended, I apologize. I will be making immediate changes to our personal conduct and interactions with our patrons. Today, I began a very constructive dialogue with community representatives to hear their concerns and take needed steps to make sure my employees and I fully appreciate the gravity of the situation. As of today, I haven’t been notified by the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission about an investigation being reported by local media outlets, but I will of course fully cooperate with all law enforcement agencies.”
