Noir Nation, a former Cracker Barrel employee in Nashville, Tennessee is speaking out after filing a federal lawsuit claiming she endured years of racial harassment and a hostile workplace environment at the restaurant chain.
📑 The Lawsuit Claims
According to The Independent, Roberta Mendez—who worked at the restaurant for 15 years—says she was subjected to “pervasive harassment based on her race, created a hostile work environment, and terminated her employment… when she complained of racially disparaging comments and behavior from her coworkers and supervisors.”
😡 Alleged Harassment From Coworkers And Supervisors
In her lawsuit, Roberta detailed being physically pushed and repeatedly called racial slurs by co-workers, including “nappy headed [N-word],” “burnt biscuit,” and “monkey.”
Instead of stepping in, Roberta claims that management made matters worse—choosing to segregate white employees from Black employees rather than address the harassment directly.
She also alleges that in 2024, a shift leader told her outright: “I don’t like Black people.”
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✊🏾 Roberta Speaks On Identity
Although her last name comes from a Latin background, Roberta identifies as a Black woman and says that her racial identity was used as a target for harassment.
🚨 Moving Forward
Despite her repeated attempts to bring attention to the discrimination she faced, Roberta says the company failed to act and eventually fired her. Now, through her lawsuit, she’s demanding accountability from Cracker Barrel and justice for the hostile conditions she and other Black employees allegedly endured.
“The reason for Roberta’s termination [was] pretext for discrimination and/or retaliation,”reads the filed suit.
Attorneys Kyle Biesecker and his co-counsel Rachel Ringer state “Next, Cracker Barrel will file their answer to the complaint and discovery will proceed from there. We expect depositions to bear out many of the facts as alleged by Ms. Mendez.”
Roberta is suing Cracker Barrel for violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964—a federal law that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Noir Nation, this case is sparking major conversations around racism in the workplace—and all eyes are on how the court will rule.
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