When To Use The African-American Express AKA The Race Card
I’ll be the first to admit that the race card isn’t always necessary…then again…
As seen in the Miami Herald (and pretty much every other major national publication):
Wal-Mart goof draws apology
Wal-Mart has apologized for accusing a black man picking up gift cards for his company of trying to pass a bad check and calling sheriff’s deputies on him.
TAMPA - (AP) — Wal-Mart has apologized to a black man who was accused of trying to pass a bad check as he was buying thousands of dollars in holiday gift cards to distribute to his company’s employees.
Employees of a Wal-Mart Supercenter called deputies last week to apprehend Reginald Pitts after he handed over a check for $13,600 to pay for 520 gift cards that were to be given to employees at GAF Materials Corp., a roofing materials manufacturer where Pitts is a human resources manager.
The company, which had $1.6 billion in revenue last year, had been spending about $50,000 a year on Wal-Mart gift cards and never had a problem when it sent a white employee to pick them up.
”I keep going over and over the incident in my mind,” Pitts told The St. Petersburg Times. “I cannot come up with any possible reason why I was treated like this except that I am black.”
Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Ark., has launched an internal investigation of the incident and apologized to Pitts.
”We probably could have handled it better, but I won’t know until we complete the investigation,” Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sharon Weber said Friday.
“Our company is built upon respect for the individual, and we have no tolerance for discrimination of any type.”
Pitts said that when he went to the store last week to pick up the already-printed cards, store managers stalled for about two hours after he handed over the check while he stood waiting by the customer service desk.
He had handed over his GAF business card, his driver’s license and the toll-free numbers to GAF’s bank. His accounting supervisor assured them over the phone that GAF was good for the check.
Later, two Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputies appeared. One grabbed Pitts by the arm. He objected to the rough handling and asked if he was being arrested.
”We need to talk with you about this forged check that you brought in here,” Pitts recalled one deputy saying.
The deputy said later that Wal-Mart had called and reported that Pitts had committed a felony.
A short time later, deputies determined there were no grounds for a criminal charge and that Wal-Mart would not press the issue further.
Pitts’ company has lodged a formal complaint with Wal-Mart.
”We are very concerned about the way Mr. Pitts was treated by Wal-Mart,” said Patricia Kim, GAF vice president of employment and labor. “We are awaiting Wal-Mart’s response.”
So far, four Wal-Mart officials have called Pitts and apologized for the incident. But no one from the Hillsborough County store did, and nobody from the company has explained what happened.
After the incident, Pitts’ company decided to buy its gift cards from Target instead.
*****
I wonder how Destiny’s Child feels about those gifts they got in that commercial now?
I don’t even have anything else to say about that…sometimes the story just tells it all.
Make sure you tune in to Jackson G. Tickle Enterprises tomorrow to provide insight and help us answer an age old question…(you have to show up to find out the actual question). Help us determine whether or not new really is better…
…you can get with this, or you can get with that. As long as you get up on the down stroke, you’re alright with me!
December 15th, 2005 09:09
Damn…just damn…
December 15th, 2005 09:29
Our team sent a Black man to buy a computer for the kid we ‘adopted’. He had all the necessary paperwork. And you know what? They refused to give it to him. When he and our white boss went, they came back with the computer. Blatnat racism is alive and thriving in Amerikkka.
December 15th, 2005 09:34
Well, I’m not shopping at Wal-Mart ANYMORE!! Hold up…I never really have.
December 15th, 2005 10:05
I can sure believe that happened. It is actually a great story to be hitting the news right now, because there are so many white people that claim that that type of thing does not happen. That it must have been SOMETHING other than race. This is one of those instances where you can not deny it. They treated that man like shit because he was black. And they f*cked themselves because that company will not go to them for gift cards again, and I bet a lot of companies will take notice of this. I guess Target should send Walmart a big fat thank you card! LOL
December 15th, 2005 11:22
Screw apologies!!! Where’s some “sorry” money? Just recently, I had a friend who was thoroughly humiliated at Walmart, in front of her children. She was accused of stealing jewelry. People are walking by and making comments. Her older child was scared and crying, but that didn’t seem to matter. This went on for an hour.
All they did was apologize to her, when they realized the woman on the surveillance tape was NOT her, BUT they wouldn’t even let her see the footage for herself.
December 15th, 2005 15:25
Why folks insist on still going to Walmart I don’t know they’re worse then Starbucks! The Debil I tell ya the DEBIL!
December 20th, 2005 12:44
*sigh* How ironice because I thought Beyonce and Latifah’s commercials were for Target!!! *shrug* LMAO Guess they weren’t that effective… ROFLMAO