Cracker Barrel Accommodations

Twenty-one people filed a $100 million federal lawsuit against Cracker Barrel restaurants Thursday, accusing the Tennessee-based chain of widespread racism, from segregating black customers in the smoking section to denying them service.

The suit...accuses Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. of Lebanon, Tenn. of systematic discrimination and documents acts of alleged racism in 175 cities in 30 states.

Attorney Grant Morris said, "There are thousands of African Americans who have been denied service."

Cracker Barrel Race

The NAACP yesterday revealed it had been working for years to prepare a lawsuit against the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store chain alleging systemic race discrimination in hiring, pay and promotion.

While the NAACP is serving as co-counsel in the suit, the case actually originated with Washington, D.C., lawyer Grant Morris and later came to include a team of lawyers from the Birmingham-based civil rights law firm Gordon, Silberman, Wiggins & Childs.

"Fighting Discrimination"
The Tennessean

Some 80 workers made their way to the Hampton Inn here last month to recount to out-of-state lawyers their claims of discrimination and hostile environments in the work place.

It wasn't the first time for such meetings between disgruntled workers and civil rights lawyers David Sanford and Grant Morris, both of Washington, D.C.

In fact, Sanford, an attorney with the law firm Gordon, Silberman, Wiggins & Childs of Birmingham, Ala., and co-counsel Morris have made frequent trips to Tennessee during the past two years.

Called upon by officials of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to look at discrimination and other claims, the two lawyers have been instrumental in a significant number of lawsuits against companies based in Tennessee or with operations here.

Among those now being sued for race discrimination, labor law violations or both: Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, TRW Inc., Goody's Family Clothing and The Cooker Restaurant Corp.