"The jury, however, must decide whether Cundiff's remark was racist, or simply a benign and innocent attempt at humor."Īlso, the jury will have to decide whether Southwest denied Sawyer and Fuller the same enjoyment that others experienced on that flight. "The court agrees with plaintiffs that because of its history, the phrase `eenie, meenie, minie, moe' could reasonably be viewed as objectively racist and offensive," Vratil wrote in her ruling.
Vratil ruled in favor of Southwest on another point, however, by dismissing the plaintiffs' claims for intentional and emotional distress.
Vratil ruled in Kansas City, Kan., that the case could proceed on the plaintiffs' claim that Southwest discriminated against them. The rhyme is part of a counting-out expression used in children's games to determine who will be "it" among a group of players. The second line of a modern version usually goes, "Catch a tiger by the toe."
Sawyer and Fuller said the rhyme immediately struck them as a reference to the original, racist version, which begins with the words: "Eenie, meenie, minie, moe catch a n- by his toe."Ĭundiff, who is white and was 22 at the time, said in court papers that she had never heard the offensive version of the rhyme and that she had used the phrase on several flights as a humorous way of getting passengers to sit down. Cundiff has contended that several others were in the aisle. The two African-American women, who are siblings, contend they were the only passengers standing in the aisle at the time. Trying to get passengers to take their seats, Southwest Airlines flight attendant Jennifer Cundiff said over the intercom, "Eenie, meenie, minie, moe pick a seat, we gotta go." Louise Sawyer, 46, of Merriam, and Grace Fuller, 48, of Lenexa, have sued Southwest Airlines alleging that they were discriminated against and suffered physical and emotional distress on a crowded February 2001 flight after an attendant uttered the rhyme.
#Eenie meenie miney mo original trial
Posted on 8:40:49 AM PST by TroutStalkerĪ widely recognized rhyme - and how it was used on a flight - are the focus of a case headed for trial in federal court in Kansas City, Kan. The Kansas City Star ^ | Monday, Febru| ROBERT A. Rhyme at center of lawsuit against Southwest Airlines Original story(ies) posted last year (link at bottom) Navigation: use the links below to view more comments. KEYWORDS: lawsuit nursuryrhyme racial southwestairlines Southwest Airlines asserted that the use of the rhyme by its employee was not used in a racist manner and was a completely innocent and amusing way for the attendant to urge passengers to take their seats.Ĭomments: Editor's Note: Judge Vratil sustained Southwest Airlines' motion for summary judgment in part before trial on the Plaintiffs' negligent infliction of emotional distress claims. O'Connell Douthit, Frets, Rouse & Gentile, L.L.C., Kansas City, Missouriĭescription: Plaintiffs claimed that in February 2001 they suffered emotional distress and physical injury as a result of Southwest Airline Flight Attendant Jennifer Cundiff say over the intercom in the Las Vegas to Kansas City flight which was preparing to take off "Eeenie, meenie, minie, mo, pick a seat, we gotta go." The plaintiffs, who are African American sisters, took the statement by Cundiff to be racist because they were still attempting to find seats on the crowded aircraft having just boarded as standby passengers. McKee of Baker, Sterchi, Cowden & Rice, L.L.C., Kansas City, Missouri Mary C. Wissel and Elizabeth Drill Nay of Lewis, Rice & Fingersh, Kansas City, Missouirĭefendant's Attorney: Todd W. Southwest Airlines and Jennifer CundiffĬourt: United States District Court for the District of Kansas Posted on 8:37:03 PM PST by Combat Override ButtonĬase Style: Louise Sawyer and Grace Fuller v. | United States District Court for the District of Kansas
#Eenie meenie miney mo original update
Eenie, meenie, minie, moe racial slur lawsuit update I can give credit on the music selection page of each app as requested (YouTube channel, Instragram, etc.) but cannot provide financial compensation.Skip to comments. If anyone would like to submit an original piece, please send it to me through one of the previously stated contact methods. Special Thanks to H3 Music on YouTube for allowing me to use his “Free for Profit” songs as background music!
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