Logan Square barbershop owner raises $10K for Ballet Folklorico de Chicago after racist attack
Logan Square barber shop raises thousands for local dance team after racial attack
Months after a racial attack targeted members of a local dance team, Calaveras Barber Shop & SMP raised $10,000 to fund college scholarships for six dancers.
CHICAGO - A Logan Square barbershop owner is helping Ballet Folklorico de Chicago students move forward after a racist attack on the group outside its studio earlier this year.
The backstory:
Ricardo Sepeda, owner of Calaveras Barbershop, raised $10,000 for the dance organization through the shop’s "10K for 10 Years" fundraiser, tied to its 10th anniversary celebration. Last week, Sepeda presented the check during the barbershop’s annual block party.
The donation comes months after a March incident that drew widespread attention online. Parents say a man and woman shouted racist comments at children leaving Ballet Folklorico de Chicago and threatened to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement on them.
Chicago police said a man also threw cups containing an unknown liquid at the group, hitting some of the children. Police later charged 50-year-old Robert Villanueva with five misdemeanor counts of battery.
For Sepeda, the attack was personal.
"They were only dancing, and that’s probably for some of them, that’s their outlet," Sepeda said. "To be attacked or harassed for something that is innocent and artistic, and maybe it’s their only outlet, it just breaks my heart."
Sepeda said the man charged in the incident had been a customer at his shop for about nine years.
After seeing the video, Sepeda confronted him and decided he would no longer be welcome at the business.
"If this is you, this is unacceptable. This is racist. This is hurtful. This is terrible," Sepeda said. "I don’t feel comfortable with you in my shop anymore."
Instead of dwelling on the incident, Sepeda said he wanted to do something to support the students who were targeted.
The $10,000 donation will help fund scholarships for six graduating Ballet Folklorico students who plan to attend DePaul University and the University of Illinois Chicago this fall.
What they're saying:
Sepeda said the fundraiser was especially meaningful because his mother danced folklórico in the 1960s.
"For me, it was very emotional," he said. "My mom was a folklorico dancer back in the ’60s with my uncles and my aunt, and just to see them still doing this dance and being able to help those kids with that check — it was very emotional for me."
In a statement, Ballet Folklorico de Chicago Executive Director said the donation carried added significance because it came in response to an incident involving someone Sepeda knew personally.
The Source: The information in this article was reported by FOX Chicago's Leslie Moreno.