Fundraiser Will Give To BLM Cause In Honor Of Ex-Parkside Workers
BIRMINGHAM, AL — A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to honor former employees of Parkside Cafe who resigned over remarks the bar's owner made in a text message to managers Friday regarding recent protests in Birmingham over the death of George Floyd.
Michael Dykes, owner of Parkside Cafe in Avondale, sent the text message to the bar's managers suggesting a "protest tax" on drinks and calling Floyd a "thug." At least three employees resigned after the text was forwarded from one of the managers.
An employee took a screenshot of the text and posted it to social media (the post has since been deleted) and the screenshot went viral over Twitter and Facebook:
Joseph Phelps, who organized the GoFundMe campaign that aims to donate $25,000 to Black Lives Matter charities in honor of the employees who resigned, said on the campaign page, "This bar owner has never worked a shift and mostly travels Europe while collecting checks for a bar built and run by his hardworking staff. He screwed all of them over and they deserve better. Let's raise some money for BLM charities in the name of these employees and to defy the hate spread by Parkside owner, Michael Dykes."
Coming to Dykes' defense over the weekend was conservative activist Candace Owens, who started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Parkside in anticipation of calls for a boycott of the bar. The campaign raised more than $200,000, but was halted by GoFundMe and Owens' account was suspended by the organization, according to a report by WIAT.
Owens said on the since-deleted GoFundMe page, "This is the Parkside Café, a restaurant and bar in Birmingham, Alabama that is operated by a man named Michael Dykes. This week, Michael Dykes watched my video which garnered 100 million views in 42 hours, about the irresponsibility of the George Floyd protests and riots. Michael agreed with me and in frustration, wrote a private text to one of his colleagues about how destructive the protests were and how they are placing further burden on small business owners who are struggling to stay alive after the Coronavirus lockdowns — and now cannot open because of the riots. Michael also agreed with my sentiment that George Floyd did not deserve to die, but also, that he had a criminal record that was not worthy of the heroic characterizations the media is spinning today."
Parkside, which opened in 2010, was one of the businesses that sparked the now-vibrant nightlife in the Avondale neighborhood has been a popular spot in the city, especially for younger patrons, many of whom have been vocal participants in the local protests surrounding Floyd's death.
Dykes defended his remarks in an interview with al.com Sunday, saying, "I was just complaining about the situation. I’m angry that some of my friends own businesses downtown and they’re boarded up. It just makes me angry. I just wish it would stop.”
When reached by Patch, Dykes said he has been advised not to comment further on the matter.
This article originally appeared on the Birmingham Patch
