Newspaper want ads, commercials, and promotional writing with mentions of "white help", "white help only", "white cooks" are evident from at least the 1910s through the 1940s. The Douglas Cafe (from the mid-1920s to later-1940s) was a low-profile local cafe operating at 844 Main Street just south of Union, next to Hogan's Alley area, and just a few blocks south of Chinatown. This woman-owned restaurant was operated with the help of her two sisters. The three had left their Russia-born parents' home on the Prairies and come west to settle. The only advertising the cafe placed in newspapers was for help, almost exclusively female. All included "white help only" or equivalent statements. They were also members of the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union Local 28 from the 1920s, one of only a handful of restaurants east of Carrall Street to be organized. While a1980s interview with a member of the family speaks of the cafe, this aspect of their operation was not discussed. This example raises the issues of racial stereotypes, the historic discrimination in Vancouver against Black and Asian ethnicities, and the legacy ofviolence and harrassment of women in the restaurant sector.
Interpretive Analysis
No comment yet! Be the first to add one!