Apology to be issued for racist comment by Hollenback Golf Course employee

WILKES-BARRE — The operator of the Hollenback Golf Course apologized for racially insensitive comments made by an employee and said the employee will also do the same.

The apology stems from a comment the employee made last month to golfer Dwayne Harrison at the public course and was demanded by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Wilkes- Barre Branch #2306.

The General Municipal Authority of the City of Wilkes-Barre that runs the course met another demand by the NAACP that the employee be disciplined.

In a press release Thursday, GMA Chairman Charles Majikes said, “An employee of the golf course used unacceptable, racially insensitive language when addressing a patron. It is important to us that the public knows we take very seriously our commitment to providing a safe, enjoyable and inclusive environment for all of our patrons and employees. Accordingly, our Board of Directors has ordered that the employee in question be appropriately disciplined, receive sensitivity training and offer Dwayne Harrison a public apology for his behavior.”

Majikes declined to identify the employee.

The full statement by Majikes can be found at https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/GMA-Press-Release.pdf.

The GMA took over operations of the course earlier this year under a three-year lease with the city. The course has been a financial burden on the city. In March the city, looking to improve the finances, leased the course to the GMA, which runs the Wilkes-Barre Municipal Golf Course in Bear Creek Township.

The course employee made the comment the afternoon of April 6 as Harrison and a partner were about to tee off. According to a press release issued Tuesday by Wilkes-Barre NAACP President Jimel Calliste, the employee said, “I didn’t know they allowed blacks to play here.” The employee later commented, “I hope you weren’t offended by what I said earlier,” the NAACP press release said.

Calliste Thursday he was pleased with the decision. “It is along the lines of what we were asking them to do,” he said.

Calliste said he spoke with Harrison, who was still embarrassed by the situation. Calliste said Harrison doesn’t want this to be a “quick fix” or “PR” on the part of the GMA. “That’s what he’s afraid of,” Calliste said.

The NAACP will continue with its plan to file a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and address the GMA when it meets at 6 p.m. on May 25 at the Wilkes-Barre Golf Course, 1001 Fairway Drive in Bear Creek Township.

“We’ll stay next to them to try to stay as informed as possible with what they’re doing moving forward,” Calliste said.