(L)inked in Controversy
An AIDS activist and a South Side entrepreneur go toe-to-toe over a tattoo
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James Prewitt and his younger brother Harold, a tattoo artist himself, opened South Side Tattoo & Body Piercing in April of 2002, nearly four years before their encounter with Rae Lewis-Thornton. The venture was James Prewitt’s proactive response to being laid off during massive job cuts MCI WorldCom. In the face of losing a job he thought was secure, he vowed to never again allow his economic fate to rest solely in the hands of his employer. He wanted more control of his destiny. He wanted to be his own boss. So with help from his family, he and Harold opened South Side.
They like to claim that theirs is only “legitimate” tattoo parlor on the South Side. “The other ‘parlors’ on the south side,” he says, making quotation marks in the air with his fingers, “don’t offer the services we offer. Sometimes we’ll get people who complain about our prices being a little higher than at other places, but I think the quality of our services is better—we’re not hosting tattoo parties—so it makes sense that you would pay a little more here. We’re professional here.”
Online reviews of the parlor affirm this. One reviewer says: “This was my first time getting a tattoo here. … Even though the prices are on the high side, it's worth every dime. The artist was professional and quick. If I am going to get another tattoo, I will be going here. Why go to the north side if you're on the south side? They are just as good, maybe even better.”
Ever since it opened, South Side has asked customers to sign an indemnity form. It’s a standard “escape responsibility” form most tattoo parlors require before service is rendered. Most personal injury attorneys will tell you that such forms offer little protection, like an umbrella during a monsoon. But at the very least, they allow the proprietors of these establishments to maintain that there was “informed consent,” should anything go awry.
Besides HIV/AIDS, the indemnity form South Side uses asks potential customers if they are pregnant, have hemophilia or diabetes, or a few other conditions. Prewitt says the tattoo artists are particularly careful when dealing with clients. If a client has diabetes, he explained, “We want to make sure you’ve cleared the procedure with your doctor.”
“Do you have diabetes where you just have to eat right to control it, or do you have it and you have to take insulin?” Prewitt hypothesizes. “So many things can go wrong. We just want to make sure we’re taking care of the client,” Prewitt told the hearing officer during his Human Relations Commission testimony.
No judgment was rendered at the end of the six-hour hearing. The hearing officer has 60 days to make a determination. After the ruling is announced, the parties are allowed an opportunity to appeal. A final decision could take up to 141 days.
Lewis-Thornton wants an apology and $185 in personal damages—the alleged difference between the price of the tattoo at South Side, and the one she ultimately got (the same day) at Jade Dragon on West Belmont, the north side of town. She also wants South Side fined between $100-$500—as established by the state.
Prewitt wants “the good name” of his establishment cleared and to be done with this nuisance of a complaint.
In the meantime, they continue their work in a community both profess to care for deeply.