18125: (Hermantin) Miami-Herald- Restaurant may be target of boycott (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted Monday January 26, 2004

HAITIAN-AMERICAN POLITICS

RESTAURANT MAY BE

TARGET OF BOYCOTT

Some Haitian Americans are calling for a boycott and picket of Tap Tap,
South Beach's only Haitian restaurant, following an incident last week
involving owner Katherine ''KK'' Kean. Last Monday, Martin Luther King Day,
Kean refused to serve about a dozen Haitians who had just finished

rallying against Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in downtown Miami.

''I thought she was joking because I go there all the time,'' said Ronald
Rigaud, one of the anti-Aristide demonstrators and owner of Citronelle
Restaurant in Miami. 'She said, `We know people with those shirts are
murderers, Haitian Nazis.' ''

Rigaud was wearing a T-shirt supporting Group 184, the Haitian civil society
coalition that demands Aristide's resignation.

Kean could not be reached for comment, but Tap Tap's manager, Peter Stearn,
said she made a mistake and has since apologized.

''She has a different political viewpoint. This guy was wearing a T-shirt
that offended her. She realized the mistake afterward,'' said Stearn, who
concedes that there has been a slight drop in business since the Monday
incident. ``Tap Tap is here to honor the Haitian music, arts, culture and
food.''

Rigaud and others said Kean's behavior is unacceptable.

''If not for Haitians, she would not have the restaurant in Miami,'' said
Tasha Magloire, an event coordinator and promoter in the Haitian community
who called the police during the incident. ``We tend to be very proud of Tap
Tap. We overlook the fact that it's not Haitian owned.''

Magloire said the boycott is indefinite. The protest will begin at 3 p.m.
Saturdayin front of Tap Tap, 819 Fifth St.

-- JACQUELINE  CHARLES

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