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In a video, an employee at a Walmart in Providence, Rhode Island, is seen in a makeshift “jail” with signs urging “bail” from customers, part of a charity fundraising initiative.
Famed civil rights lawyer Ben Crump is speaking out against Walmart as the retail giant receives criticism for locking a Black staffer in a cage as a charity fundraising initiative.
In a video, the Providence, Rhode Island, employee is seen in a makeshift “jail” with signs urging customers to “bail” him out.
“Putting a Black employee in a cage should NOT have been the solution to raise funds,” Crump said Sunday via Twitter. “Why did no one at Walmart realize this before this offensive and humiliating event happened?”
According to ABC 6 News, the Black Lives Matter Rhode Island PAC posted a picture of a Black worker inside a cage with a sign on it that read, “I’m in Jail!!! I need Bail!!! Help me raise $50 to get out!! All donations going to Hasbro Children’s Miracle Network!!”
Harrison Tuttle, director of BLM RI PAC, said Thursday that the group is “deeply dismayed and disturbed” by the incident. He called for an investigation and an apology from Walmart.
Joe Pennington, a Walmart spokesperson, said the company had urged store employees to “creatively engage with one another and customers to raise money” as part of the campaign.
Walmart officials said Friday that the fundraising exhibit “goes against company policy and should never be used.” The company has since removed it.
“This display not only perpetuates harmful stereotypes,” Tuttle said, ABC 6 reported, “but also showcases a blatant lack of respect and understanding for the experiences of marginalized communities.”
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