Virginia campground to pay two families $750,000 for racial discrimination against Black camper

By Terry Dickerson, NBC

Two families have been awarded $750,000 after a jury ruled that the owner of a Virginia campground discriminated against them because one of the campers was a Black man.

Friends Amanda Mills and Angela Smith had planned a joint family camping trip to Lazy Cove Campground in June 2020. Smith, who is white, brought her husband, Damien Smith, who is Black, and their 8-year-old son to join Mills’ family for the getaway.

Their plans took a turn after receiving a phone call from the campground’s owner, Regina Turner. According to a complaint filed with the Virginia Fair Housing Board — first reported by The Washington Post — Turner told Mills, “You didn’t tell me that your friend’s husband is Black.”

“Had I known, I wouldn’t have rented the lot to them. I saw the son, but I figured everyone makes a mistake,” she said, according to the complaint.

According to court documents, Turner allegedly said to another tenant on the campground that she wanted to wait until their lease ended instead of moving forward with eviction.

“I can’t make them move now because if I give both of them moving notices now, they could take my park from me. I’m smart, you know, and I’ve got to use my head,” according to court documents.

The Virginia Attorney General’s Office and the Virginia Fair Housing Board filed a civil suit against Turner on one count of refusing to rent and two counts of discrimination. The suit resulted in both families being awarded $100,000 each for their losses.

The jury also awarded an additional $550,000 in punitive damages, according to a news release from Attorney General Jason Miyares on Thursday.

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