An Iowa woman no longer has her job after posting an anti-Black Lives Matter message on social media targeting a Cedar Rapids Black-owned business.
Vanessa Matis took to Facebook after seeing a Crab Attack Cajun Seafood Shack post that included a photo of Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague, who is Black, eating a meal at the restaurant.
“I saw your post with the ia [sic] city mayor being, your friend. We were going to try your establishment. Bit [sic], now that you support the ia city mayor that supports blm, we will not. hope you choose wisely on your future posts,” Matis wrote.
According to local station KCRG, Matis’ post didn’t sit well with her employer Covenant Family Solutions, where she started working part-time last month with children who have behavioral or mental health conditions.
“It went against everything we stand for as an organization,” stated Anna Patty, communications director at Covenant Family Solutions.
“Once it was confirmed that that statement was made the real fact…here is that a statement of that nature risks the trust and puts, damages the trust we have with patients in our care and so there really was no other decision that we could possibly make to be able to restore that trust.”
The restaurant shared the message Feb. 12 on its Facebook page with the response, “We would normally never post things like this but this is just some of the things we deal with as a black owned business.”
The restaurant owners told the station that Matis’ message was shocking.
“Receiving that message made us feel that we were purposely targeted after sharing a positive post and experience of a customer, who just so happened to be the Mayor of Iowa City and Black, in addition to us being a Black-owned business,” the owners said.
They pointed out that Matis’ venom was “specific to the reasoning being BLM, when in fact he is Black and so are we.”
The statement continued: “We are no longer allowing others to bully us, when all we are doing is, trying to build a great business! This is not the 1st person to express disapproval of us and we understand that comes with the business territory, but it was the manner in which they expressed their disappointment. …Being silent never brings change. Hopefully us speaking out will encourage others to do the same, no matter what the outcome may be.”
Matis defended her post to the station. She said, “I distinguish between civil disobedience and vandalism. I believe all people are created equal. I have always lived my life accordingly to that. I believe in the equality and dignity of everyone.”
According to KCRG, although Matis lost her part-time job, she’s still employed by the Cedar Rapids Community School District.
