African Americans Ordered to Leave Wal-Mart in New Jersey

On March 17^th someone got on the loud speaker at a Washington Township, New Jersey Wal-Mart and calmly ordered the African American patrons to leave. A store manager quickly apologized for the rudeness, unfortunately, the damage was already done. Shoppers were outraged by this nauseating prank. Wal-Mart officials claimed they were just as appalled as their shoppers. The voice on the PA system was male, but no one knows if it was an employee or a random patron joking around. This is not the first time Wal-Mart has had a brush with discrimination.

There have been instances of black customers being treated unfairly, and lawsuits against Wal-Mart from female employees who were passed over for promotions and raises and given to male employees. In February 2009, the store paid $17.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in its hiring of truck drivers. The U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the company in May 2009. EEOC claimed that the retailer was subjecting Hispanic employees in California to a hostile work environment. However, the NAACP claims that Wal-Mart has demonstrated that they care about diversity during the past few years.

It is unfortunate that prejudice still rears its ugly head. It is pathetic because it shows a lack of intellectual and personal growth in America. Even if this prank was meant to be harmless, it was not perceived that way. Americans should no better than to tell racial jokes. African Americans will always be sensitive about racial slurs and jokes because of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and the lack of civil rights in the past. Once and for all, "RACIAL JOKES ARE NOT FUNNY. STOP IT," racial jokes makes both races appear intellectually inferior to the rest of the world. However, if you truly are a racial discriminatory bigot, then have enough grace and class to keep it to yourself. Believe me, Caucasians and minorities know that there are still some bigots around, no need to through it in everybody's face. We get it, okay.

African American shoppers are threatening to boycott the store until something is done. This is not an extreme action considering Wal-Mart's past behavior to women and minorities. According to the Electronic Village blog, African Americans are projected to have the spending power of $1 trillion dollars for this year. I am not an economic expert, but considering this information, Wal-Mart needs to clean up their discriminatory actions or loose out on a lot of revenue.

"Black People Must Leave, NJ Walmart Announcer Says" Yahoo Finance.

"All Black People Told to Leave N.J. Walmart" Fox News.

"Blacks Told to Leave Walmart in New Jersey" The Columbus Dispatch.

"Black Spending Power" Electronic Village.