White man leaves black waitress $450 tip

WASHINGTON • When Jason White walked into Busboys and Poets Monday morning, a Washington restaurant that promotes social justice, he looked around and told his friend he might want to remove his red “Make America Great Again” cap.

The three white Texan men knew they stuck out in a place where African-American art and images cover the walls. And White said he could sense when his waitress greeted them that she knew they did too.

But Rosalynd Harris had arrived at work that morning still high off the energy from the Women’s March. Her customers Saturday had been abuzz with an optimism that was contagious. So she was especially cheery when she greeted White and his two friends. They chatted warmly. They told her they were from west Texas. White is a dentist and he complimented her on her smile. They were jovial and fun.

Harris admits that White was right. She did prejudge them, by instantly assuming they were in town for President Donald Trump’s inauguration by appearance alone, even though by that point the red baseball cap had been tucked away.

After eating, White decided to leave Harris, a 25-yearold African-American woman, a personal message on the receipt. Then, after he wrote it, he left a $450 tip on their $72.60 bill.

“We may come from different cultures and may disagree on certain issues, but if everyone would share their smile and kindness like your beautiful smile, our country will come together as one people,” the note reads. “Not race. Not gender. Just American.” Then he added, “God Bless!”