11-TH FOR AMERICAN AIRLINES.
JETBLUE AND FRONTIER HAVE
ALREADY MADE SIMILAR POLICY
CHANGES.
***EMILY***
IN A STORY YOU'LL SEE ONLY ON 4
...
WALMART IS RESPONDING TO
COMPLAINTS ABOUT AN EMPLOYEE WHO
WORE A FACE MASK WITH THE
CONFEDERATE FLAG WHILE WORKING
AT ITS HARRISVILLE STORE.
THIS COMES AFTER A CUSTOMER
WHO ORIGINALLY RAISED CONCERNS
... SAID SHE WAS BRUSHED OFF BY
MULTIPLE MANAGERS.
ABC4'S ROSIE NGUYEN EXPLAINS
WHY SOCIAL JUSTICE ADVOCATES SAY
... THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY
FOR CONSTRUCTIVE DIALOGUE.
IT'S NOW A COMMON SIGHT TO
SEE EVERYONE FROM EMPLOYEES TO
CUSTOMERS WEARING A FACE MASK AT
THE GROCERY STORE TO HELP REDUCE
THE SPREAD OF COVID-19.
BUT FOR ONE CUSTOMER WHO WAS
SHOPPING AT THIS HARRISVILLE
WALMART ON WEDNESDAY ... SEEING
AN EMPLOYEE WEARING *THIS FACE
MASK CAUGHT HER OFF-GUARD.
"To me, it's a symbol of hate."
THE CUSTOMER, WHO REQUESTED
TO KEEP HER IDENTITY ANONYMOUS
... SAYS MULTIPLE MANAGERS
DISMISSED HER CONCERNS AND MADE
HER FEEL INVALIDATED.
"The minute me as a black woman
says something or raises my
voice, then it's 'Oh. Here's an
angry black woman again. Oh, cry
me a river. Racism was over how
many years ago ... you know, you
get all that."
Rosie Nguyen / @ABC4Rosie
(Bridge):
BACK IN 20-15 ... WALMART
ANNOUNCED IT WOULD HALT THE
SALES OF ALL MERCHANDISE WITH
IMAGERY OF THE CONFEDERATE FLAG
TO AVOID OFFENDING ANY OF ITS
CUSTOMERS.
Seth Brysk / Regional Director,
Anti-Defamation League: "The
confederate flag is a potent
symbol of bigotry, of white
supremacy. It's been adopted by
a number of white supremacist
and extremist groups."
BRYSK SAYS SOME PEOPLE --
WHO STILL SEE THE FLAG AS A
SYMBOL OF SOUTHERN HERITAGE,
PRIDE, AND HISTORY ... MAY NOT
UNDERSTAND THE OFFENSIVE NATURE
OF ITS IMAGERY.
BUT INCIDENTS LIKE THIS ...
COULD BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR
CONSTRUCTIVE DIALOGUE AND
AWARENESS.
Seth Brysk / Regional Director,
Anti-Defamation League: "We
cannot assume the intent of the
person who's displaying. So I
think coming to them with a
certain understanding and saying
... helping understand why this
is offensive. This is a
teachable moment."
IN A STATEMENT ... WALMART
TOLD ABC4 NEWS ...
THEY IMMEDIATELY HAD THE
ASSOCIATE REMOVE HIS MASK AND
WEAR A NEW ONE WHEN THIS WAS
BROUGHT TO THEIR ATTENTION.
... HELD MEETINGS TO ENSURE
ASSOCIATES UNDERSTAND THEIR MASK
POLICY.
... AND IS IN THE PROCESS OF
REACHING OUT TO THE CUSTOMER TO
APOLOGIZE.
IT'S A RESPONSE THAT THE
CUSTOMER SAYS ... MAKES HER FEEL
...
(34:25 to 34:26) "Hopeful..."
(35:10 to 35:17) "My hope is
that people learn how certain
symbols can impact others."
REPORTING FOR ABC4 NEWS, I'M
ROSIE NGUYEN.
***GLEN***
