A Black business owner in Roseburg, Oregon, said he has fired more than 20 employees after what he describes as ongoing racial harassment against his family in the community.
The owner, who posts on TikTok as @fatheracab, opened his video by saying, “Black business owner, I just flexed my power against white supremacists. I had a staff of over 20 people. I fired every last one of them.”
What He Said About the Alleged Harassment
The owner said he lives in Roseburg, the county seat of Douglas County. He called it “a local sundown town.”
He alleged that his family has been harassed by white supremacists. He said, “The local sheriff here, he knows there’s been white supremacists harassing my family. The local residents here, they’ve maintained the system of White supremacy.”
He described the person he said was harassing him as someone “who’s on social security” and “lives with his goddamn grandparents.”
The business owner did not name the person. The video does not give specific details about the alleged harassment.
Pay, Firings and the Move to California
The owner said his employees earned more than $25 an hour. He added that the firings were meant as a response to the town. “I’m gonna punish the whole town,” he noted.
He also said that he and his wife combined “generate over three quarters of a million dollars a year,” and that he plans to relocate. He said, “I’m gonna take my talents over to California where I’m actually appreciated.”
He ended the video by advising other Black business owners: “I advise all black business owners to let your white employees go.”
Oregon Law and Roseburg Demographics
Oregon law ORS 659A.030 makes it unlawful for an employer to “bar or discharge the individual from employment” because of race, and it applies to employers with one or more employees.
If the owner’s account of his staff size and reasoning is accurate, the firings could expose him to legal claims from former employees.
Roseburg had 23,683 residents in the 2020 census, with 85.1 percent listed as white and 0.5 percent, or 130 people, as Black or African American, per the U.S. Census Bureau.
Online Reaction
Some commenters expressed support. One wrote, “When I start my business I’m only hiring black people.” Another suggested he “hire black employees and hire black security… black panther style if you will.”
