Paper Moon racial discrimination lawsuit in court Tuesday | News

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT)- A racial discrimination lawsuit against a Richmond strip club heads to federal court Tuesday.

A former Paper Moon employee is suing because he says he was discriminated against for being Black. Now, he's got the backing of the NAACP. A judge will decide at Tuesday's hearing whether the case will proceed.

The plaintiff, J. Alexander, goes by "Jeronimo" when he DJs. He said he's aspired to be a DJ, so he was excited to have the opportunity at Paper Moon. But he said he never expected the racial slurs that followed. 

"Oh, make that Black m-fer, don't let that customer see that Black m-fer," said Jones, recalling some of the offensive statements people said to him. Plus, Jones said he was asked to hide so people wouldn't' see a Black DJ.

"There's a lot of White people in here, make him duck down while he's working and stuff like that," said Jones.

Sarah: "So did you actually duck down behind the counter?"
Jones: "I would stoop down, yeah. "

Jones said he was also asked to change his voice.  

"You sound too Black," Jones recalled. "You sound like a thug off the street or a n***** off the street. They told me sound basically told me to sound like a Q94, someone from a White radio station."

Richmond-based Paper Moon previously settled a lawsuit in Florida, for racial discrimination involving two Black doormen. A leader with the NAACP said this isn't the first time they've heard allegations like this about Paper Moon.

"We've had complaints from employees," said King Salim Khalfani, with the NAACP. "Even White employees say they don't hire African dancers, waitresses, because their clientele is primarily White and they want it to stay that way."

The NAACP is standing behind Jones and his claims.

"I thought it was one of the most egregious things I'd ever seen," said Khalfani. "If that's the way Paper Moon operates, it needs to be dealt with severely."

A lawyer for Paper Moon previously said they plan to ask to dismiss the charges in court Tuesday. The company denies all of Jones' allegations. The lawsuit asks for $600,000 and a trial.

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