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The owners agree to a deal, which includes a fine, to settle bias charges involving a black lawmaker from Maryland.
By ALISA ULFERTS
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 31, 2001
TALLAHASSEE -- For allegedly refusing to serve a black man in the front of his bar, Perry Package and Lounge owner David Holton has agreed to give up serving altogether.
Holton signed a deal Wednesday surrendering his liquor license to the state, a move that caps a four-month investigation by several state agencies.
Holton and his wife, Diane Holton, also will write a letter of apology to Perry's residents and donate $15,000 to the town's race relations education effort.
"They just don't have the resources to fight," Holton's attorney, Greg Parker, said Wednesday. His clients were outgunned by several state agencies and didn't want to put the town of Perry, about 50 miles southeast of Tallahassee, through any more negative publicity, Parker said.
"There's no way they could survive this emotionally and financially," he said.
Perry became the focus of national attention in February when a black lawmaker from Maryland said he was told he had to be served in a back room. The Rev. Al Sharpton, the civil rights activist, visited the town twice, and Florida's legislative black caucus traveled en masse several times to Perry for community meetings.
According to the police report Maryland Delegate Talmadge Branch filed, he was told "the rules" required that he be served in the back room with the rest of the "coloreds." Branch had stopped in the bar on his way to a meeting in Tallahassee.
Branch said Wednesday he thinks the agreement is fair and necessary for the town to heal.
"I do think that's what it will take to set an example," Branch said.
"It's bigger than what happened to me. The law has spoken, and we should respect that."
Holton, who says the incident was a misunderstanding, could have faced tens of thousands of dollars in fines in addition to losing his liquor license had he not accepted the deal.
He was sued by Attorney General Bob Butterworth, criminally charged by State Attorney Jerry Blair and had his liquor license in the sights of the state Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco.
"They're just tired of being the center of the attention," Parker said of his clients. They have found a potential buyer for the bar who may transfer his own liquor license there, Parker said.
Gov. Jeb Bush, who ordered the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the incident, praised the efforts of all the state officials involved.
"Today's settlement makes it clear that racial discrimination by Florida's businesses will be punished swiftly and severely," Bush said.
Butterworth added that the agreement between Holton and the state agencies "loudly reiterates Florida's firm commitment to the principles of equal and fair treatment of all people."
"When Talmadge Branch was told he could only be served in a back room with others of his race, it cast a shame on a state that has long striven to ensure equal treatment of all who live and visit here," Butterworth said in a statement.
Butterworth sued Holton in February, accusing him of violating Florida's antidiscrimination laws. At the time, Butterworth said he planned to seek the maximum penalty -- $10,000 per incident -- for each person that he determined suffered discrimination at the bar. He also was seeking $10,000 for each violation he found of the state's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.
Although the agreement with Holton ends the investigations by the Attorney General's Office and state alcohol division, work has just begun for another state organization.
The state Commission on Human Relations has set up shop in Perry, where it has been taking complaints of discrimination and holding meetings intended to get residents talking about race.
The $15,000 that Holton agreed to donate will help pay for more community meetings or other outreach efforts of the commission, according to the state.
State Rep. Frederica Wilson, a Miami Democrat who heads the black caucus, celebrated Wednesday's agreement.
"I think it's justice . . . that this gentleman has been put out of business," Wilson said.
"Bigotry and racism is not going to be tolerated."
Perry mired in racism, black residents say (May 7, 2001)
Civil rights crusade fires up small town (March 3, 2001)
Attorney general sues owner of bar in Perry (March 1, 2001)
Charges filed in Perry bar case (February 21, 2001)
Perry bar faces more scrutiny after complaint (February 15, 2001)
Bill would ban racial profiling (February 12, 2001)
Visiting lawmaker: Bar in Perry drew color line (February 6, 2001)