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ATLANTA, GEORGIA – JULY 24: TK Petersen and Ryan Wilson onstage during Usher’s New Look Foundation Summit 20th Anniversary VIP Fundraiser at The Gathering Spot on July 24, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
The Gathering Spot (TGS), a Black-owned and operated members-only club for Black professionals, made waves last week when it announced its new chief financial officer would be Mike McCloskey, a white man.
Soon after, members of the private club began to probe deeper into recent, concerning changes to TGS since its acquisition by Greenwood Inc. Now, founders T’Keel “TK” Petersen and Ryan Wilson have filed a lawsuit against the fintech company alleging that Greenwood has failed to pay them money they are owed as well as breaching its purchasing agreement through the replacement of C-suite level executives.
Many Black professionals turned to The Gathering Spot as a safe and culturally inclusive alternative to Soho House and other private clubs that allegedly often discriminate based on race. However, major changes have started to cause members to no longer turn to TGS for their working needs and have them considering ending their memberships altogether. Former TMZ personality Van Lathan took to Instagram, identifying himself as a founding member of the Los Angeles location, and expressed his disappointment over recent news. “I could join any social or co-working space in Los Angeles I want to. I joined this one because it was Black-owned, Black-run, and Black Black,” he said. “Firing a founder and adding a white dude to the C-suite is at cross purposes with everything I joined for.”
Source: Black Enterprise
