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As someone who has been following the story of the black female server fired from Truluck’s in Fort Lauderdale, I delved deeper into the details that caught my attention.
Most people have seen the written complaint that she submitted to federal agencies and shared on Instagram. Even though she named multiple servers in her complaint, media outlets only named one server in the articles written about the case: Gregory Martinez. This is due to the fact that she alleges he not only touched her hair two different times but also asked her the intrusive question of whether she wore contact lenses. I became curious about her eye color, so I researched her on social media.
After browsing through her Instagram account, I noticed that she has gray eyes. I was able to locate her Facebook page by searching through the people she follows on Instagram, and through her Facebook page, I saw childhood photos of her. And yes, she had gray eyes back then. This observation debunked any assumptions that her eye color was due to contact lenses, as it’s highly unlikely for a child to wear them.
Childhood photo of the former Fort Lauderdale Truluck’s server who was fired — and went on to initiate a lawsuit on the grounds of racial discrimination, citing numerous violations.
Society is accustomed to seeing black people with dark eyes, that the sight of a black person with light-colored eyes can be mistaken for contact lenses. While it is relatively rare, it is possible for Black people to have light-colored eyes. Eye color is primarily determined by the amount of melanin in the iris, which is influenced by genetic factors. Although people with darker skin tones generally have a higher concentration of melanin in their eyes, it’s still inappropriate to question when you see a dark-skinned person with light-colored eyes.
By questioning the person, you could make them feel as if they are odd or strange. The former Truluck’s waitress undoubtedly felt awkward when a coworker asked if she wore contact lenses. He basically implied that there was something unusual or different about her appearance. While it is rare to see a black person with gray eyes, it’s still not a good idea to make one feel that their appearance is not what you expected. In essence, it made her feel like he was singling her out or making her feel different from everyone else, which can be uncomfortable or unsettling in the workplace. If Truluck’s claims they don’t tolerate discrimination, then they shouldn’t tolerate employees asking black employees with light-colored eyes if they are wearing contact lenses. While some may say the question has nothing to do with race, it has everything to do with race. The question is only asked because of how rare it is to see black people with light eyes. It’s essential to be mindful of how our remarks and questions can impact others. She was rightfully offended by the question because it made her feel ‘abnormal’ compared to others at Truluck’s.
The occurrence of light eye colors in Black people is typically attributed to inheritance from white ancestors. Throughout history, there has been racial mixing and genetic diversity, leading to a range of eye colors in black people. This means that the gray eyes on the black female server are likely due to her genetic heritage. A quick look at her Instagram account shows that her mother is purely white. On her Facebook profile, I found a photo of her posing with her mother, and guess what? She inherited her mother’s exact eyes. So, for people like Gregory Martinez, who don’t see how inappropriate it is to ask intrusive questions—a black woman with gray eyes could easily have a white mother with gray eyes. Here is a photo that I found on the woman’s Facebook page, showing that she’s a spitting image of her mother, just with black skin:
