ST. GEORGE — It was a nice day to go out to the movies. Asia Brown, her husband and two kids went to a 2:30 p.m. showing of “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” at the Megaplex Theatres at Pineview.
The back of their Kia Soul on that June 2 day was dirty enough that the usual “wash me” could have been written with a finger. Instead, their kids wrote “Mom + Dad” on the dusty back windshield before they headed inside for the movie.
About 148 minutes of runtime later, the family came out all smiles having enjoyed the latest entry in the “Mad Max” saga. Those smiles were wiped away when Brown said they saw something written on the back of their car. A racial slur used for Brown’s African American racial identity was written in dirt graffiti.
Rather than wipe it away, Brown took a picture. She said she didn’t want the police involved, but she did file a report with the movie theater. She also felt it was a moment for a conversation — not only with her kids but perhaps the community as a whole.
“It sparked a conversation I wasn’t expecting to have … about how our existence might offend people,” Brown said, noting it was a discussion she hadn’t planned for her under-age-10 kids. “It’s a conversation some people have to have, but it was way earlier than I expected. But we had to have it.”
It’s also a conversation relevant as Wednesday marks the Juneteenth national holiday marking the end of slavery in the United States 161 years ago.
Brown said she didn’t notice anyone staring at her, and no one confronted her family before going into the theater. Along with the racial overtones, she said it also made her fear for her safety.
“It just signified that somebody was watching us, “ Brown said. “Someone went out of their way to come over there and write on it. It’s just eerie.”
During the ensuing conversation with her children, Brown received a question in return.
“Why? Just why?” Brown said. “I said, ‘We can’t speak on why, but we can we can only control how we feel about it. We could try to be the bigger person.’”
And the way to be a bigger person, Brown said, was to not let the incident ruin their day.
“It’s not gonna dampen our day. It’s just a safety issue,” Brown said. “It’s a lazy Sunday. We’re going out to the movie.”
Nevertheless, Brown said she went back inside and asked for management, hoping their security cameras caught the incident. She was asked to fill out paperwork and would hear back from the theater.
“I’ve never heard back,” Brown said.
St. George News sought out comment from the management of the theater. An assistant manager identifying himself as William said he could not make an official comment. He said that security cameras at the theater only point inward to the theater rather than the parking lot.
He then directed St. George News to contact Jeff Whipple, vice president of marketing for the Larry H. Miller Companies, which runs the Megaplex chain. Whipple has not replied to repeated phone calls, texts and emails.
Outside the Megaplex, as the smell of buttery popcorn wafted through the parking lot, security cameras could be seen pointing at the door of the theater. At the top of the theater building, two security cameras seem to be aimed toward the parking lot.
Brown said the incident has not put a damper on her feelings about St. George, where she moved three years ago, or kept her from going to the movies. She said it was the first time she had experienced this kind of racism in the area. However, she said her kids have been called racial epithets on the school bus and that incident was “handled.”
“You know children. If they hear it at home, they might say it on the bus, but that’s it. Nothing geared toward us from the community as a whole,” said Brown, who added she feels welcome in Southern Utah. “St. George is safe for the most part, so we don’t have to watch our back here, I thought.”
At the same time, she hopes residents will have “that conversation.”
“It’s 2024. This is a past occurrence. Why is it still happening today?” Brown said. “Have we not learned anything from our past?”
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