by Altheria Gaston

They were not in church. They were not in court. They were not in class or in any other setting in which laughter might not have been inappropriate. On Saturday, August 22, 2015, they were on a wine train through the Napa Valley wine country. It was a social, perhaps even celebratory, occasion for Sistahs of the Reading Edge Book Club members who were taking their annual trip. According to the members and other passengers, the women were simply having fun and exhibiting behavior consistent with individuals on a wine tour. A few passengers allegedly complained of the Black women’s joviality, and the manager asked the women to quiet down. When they refused to stifle their cheerfulness, they were removed from the train — singled out and reprimanded for talking and laughing too loudly.