This past weekend, protesters demonstrated outside a Cracker Barrel in Waldorf, Maryland after it turned away students with disabilities during a field trip in early December.
“We are her voice, we are advocates,” Dustin Reed, Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) parent, told NBC affiliate WRC-TV in Washington, on Dec. 15. Reed, the protest’s organizer, also livestreamed the protest on Facebook. “If they’re not heard, no change will happen.”
Reed says the turnout at the demonstration was “amazing.” His 7-year-old daughter, who is nonverbal, was one of the students involved in the incident.
“I want awareness, I want discrimination to stop in all aspects,” Reed tells TODAY.com. “No one deserves that kind of treatment.”
Dozens of people gathered in front of the Cracker Barrel, held signs in support of the students and shouted, “Can we eat now?” the protest’s main slogan. They also also chanted, “Treat us equally,” “Self-determination” and “Shut them down” in front of the restaurant.
The controversy began on Dec. 3 when 11 students with disabilities and seven staff members were denied service at the Cracker Barrel location.
The group attempted to eat at the restaurant during a field trip that was part of a community-based instruction program meant to hone life skills, including interacting with others in public spaces like retail shops and restaurants.
Another parent, Andrew Blumhardt, told USA Today at the protest that his 7-year-old daughter Mary was one of the children denied at the restaurant.
He claims a Cracker Barrel server told Mary’s aide, “Can you move this?” using the object pronoun to refer to his daughter, who uses an electric wheelchair.
A representative for Cracker Barrel told TODAY.com on Dec. 9 that the refusal of service to the party of 18 was due to staffing issues and a partially closed second dining room, and that its missteps “were unfortunate but were unrelated to the students’ capabilities.”
On Dec. 9 however, after Cracker Barrel executives met with CCPS leadership, teachers and parents, the chain said it took actions to address the missteps at the Waldorf location, including firing the general manager and two servers, and conducting specialized training for its staff, though it did not specify what that training would look like.
Cracker Barrel declined to comment on the protest.
Reed says he isn’t satisfied.
“There isn’t much Cracker Barrel can do now,” he says. “They had their chance to correct their wrongs at the meeting corporate called for with us parents. They decided to deny, gaslight, and defend themselves instead of taking accountability and correcting.”
Reed says Sunday’s protest was only the beginning and that he plans to hold another one at the start of 2025, improving upon aspects of the first to make it more accessible to everyone. He also said “it’s too late” for Cracker Barrel to fix things with the group.
“With how well it went I would love to continue to help our children and their community be heard/stood up for,” Reed says. “Our time to take a stand is now.”
