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More Racism at Wal-Mart, This Time Over P.A. System
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 18, 2010
Modified Mar 18, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 18, 2010
Modified Mar 18, 2010
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Wal-Mart officials scrambled to apologize yesterday for an ugly incident that occurred at one of their New Jersey stores on Sunday. Shoppers were shocked when an unidentified male voice was heard over the store's P.A. system, "calmly" giving the following announcement: "Attention, Wal-Mart customers: All black people, leave the store now." According to the AP, a manager quickly apologized for the remark, and it's still unclear whether a "rogue patron" or an employee made the announcement. But naturally, customers were a tad offended:
"I want to know why such statements are being made, because it flies in the face of what we teach our children about tolerance for all," said Sheila Ellington, who was with a friend in the store, which is located in Washington Township, in southern Jersey. "If this was meant to be a prank, there's only one person laughing, and it's not either one of us."
On the other hand, Bill Mitchell, a former Walmart employee, told the AP that "as a black man, I've heard worse things." Wal-Mart brass says they're investigating to determine how this happened, and issued a statement saying, "We are just as appalled by this incident as our customers. Whoever did this is just wrong and acted in an inappropriate manner. Clearly, this is completely unacceptable to us and to our customers."
In February 2009, Wal-Mart paid $17.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by truck drivers who accused the company of racial discrimination. And the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also sued the company last year, because Hispanic employees at a Sam's Club subsidiary in California claimed they were on the receiving end of racist insults from other "associates." All this comes as Wal-Mart has been mounting a charm offensive to break into the retail market in Chicago and NYC.
According to an article in Crain's last August, "The retailer is likely to focus on poor neighborhoods where there is a pent-up demand for jobs and supermarkets." "Wal-Mart will look for support among communities of lower-income consumers who are eager to have them in the city," said Kathryn Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, of which Wal-Mart is a member. "We need jobs. If Wal-Mart is prepared to come in and make the investment, we should all welcome that, and the unions should make their case for why workers need to organize."
As of last autumn, the public's perception of Wal-Mart had been improving; an opinion poll found the number of people who would oppose a new Wal-Mart in their neighborhood dropped from 68% two years ago to 56%. It will be interesting to see if this latest incident makes any difference, or if people just want their cheap glitter jeans and DVD players, segregation be damned.
Tagged
new jersey
racist
wal-Mart
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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