wfn.org | ELCA Reconsiders, Will Assign Rooms at St. Louis Adam's Mark Hotel

[News News <NEWS@ELCA.ORG>]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

March 23, 2000

ELCA RECONSIDERS, WILL ASSIGN ROOMS AT ST. LOUIS ADAM'S MARK HOTEL
00-073-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- In light of the settlement of lawsuits charging
the Adam's Mark Hotel chain with racial discrimination, the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) announced it has reconsidered and will
assign participants and staff in this summer's Youth Gathering to the
Adam's Mark Hotel in St. Louis.
     The Adam's Mark is among 38 hotels that will be used to house ELCA
Youth Gathering attendees.
     On March 21, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the Adam's
Mark hotel chain will pay $8 million in exchange for dismissal of the
lawsuits.  The hotel chain also agreed to take extensive measures to
prevent discrimination at its facilities.
     The Justice Department's suit, filed in December 1999, said the
chain engaged in a pattern of racial discrimination.  In addition, five
African American vacationers brought a class action suit against the
chain, claiming they had been singled out as security risks at a Black
College Reunion weekend in Daytona Beach, Fla.  The plaintiffs said
White guests had not been treated as they had.
     At a March 21 news conference, U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno
said the settlement agreement "will ensure that every guest is treated
equally and fairly."
     Earlier this year the ELCA announced it would not assign Youth
Gathering participants or staff to the Adam's Mark Hotel in St. Louis,
nor would it use meeting facilities there.  The ELCA considered the
Justice Department's charges serious and did not want the racial
discrimination issue to mar the Youth Gathering or create an
uncomfortable situation for participants, said the Rev. William H. Kees,
director of the ELCA Youth Gathering, Chicago.
     The Youth Gathering is expected to draw 45,000 participants and
staff to St. Louis during two events, scheduled for June 28 to July 2
and July 5 to 9.  As a designated hotel, the Adam's Mark agreed to make
700 guest rooms and some meeting rooms available for each of the Youth
Gathering events, Kees said.
     In a letter that will be sent to Youth Gathering participants,
Kees said he was pleased to report the resolution of the lawsuits and
that the ELCA reconsidered its earlier stance on the matter.
     "We have reviewed the entire settlement agreement and are
satisfied that it ensures nondiscriminatory treatment of all guests and
groups utilizing the hotel, including the Gathering," Kees said.  Youth
Gathering organizers are now assigning groups to all designated hotels
in St. Louis, including the Adam's Mark, he said.
     Kees said the youth are coming to St. Louis "so that they may have
an uplifting experience of fellowship and worship, faith and praise to
God."
     "The ELCA is dedicated to advocating dignity and justice for all
people," Kees said earlier this year. "It is primary to this church's
mission to discover and to address oppression and injustice in order to
further the cause of human dignity, freedom and equality."
     The Adam's Mark settlement agreement calls for the chain to pay
$1.5 million for Florida to distribute among four historically Black
colleges in the state.  The chain also agreed to   promote the annual
Black College Reunion in Florida, and it provided financial settlements
for  guests and visitors who attended the 1999 reunion in Daytona Beach.
     Adam's Mark agreed to hire an outside monitor, Project Equality
Inc., Kansas City, Mo., to investigate guest complaints, monitor the
chain's compliance, design sensitivity training for all employees and
develop a marketing plan to attract African American guests to the
hotel.    The ELCA is a sponsor of Project Equality.
     Fred Kummer, president of Adam's Mark, St. Louis, said the chain
is committed to taking extra steps to demonstrate it is committed to
diversity and equality.  He also apologized for any actions that may
have made guests feel uncomfortable or unwelcome.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html