Earlier this week, a University of North Texas student walked into an on-campus eatery to get some fast food, and walked out of it with buffalo wings and a heaping side of racism.
Chelsea Shaw shared a photo of the receipt she received from Krispy Krunchy Chicken to Twitter on Tuesday. On it was listed her order– a 5-piece wings– and her ‘ID’, which read ‘n—-r.’ She captioned the photo “I need answers.”
Shaw then contacted Justin Moore, a lawyer who takes on racial-justice cases in Texas. He shared the photo of Shaw’s receipt to his Twitter and Facebook, with a caption that reads “My client received this after ordering lunch at UNT. On the heels of two black men being arrested at Starbucks, to say that this behavior is unacceptable would be to state the obvious. We demand that our institutions of higher learning make their campuses safe for all students.”
I need answers……. pic.twitter.com/AMorwa9YtC
— Chels. (@ChelseaMonAmour) April 17, 2018
According to The Daily Beast, Moore wants the fast food chicken chain removed from the student union. The executive director of retail dining services, Bill McNeace, said that the cashier was not responsible for writing the slur— The cook was. McNeace says the cook was immediately terminated, in a tweeted video adding:
“It was not the cashier, it was actually the cook. “It became apparent, when it came out, [the cook] apologized to the manager and I think tried to find, or did find, the customer.”
University of North Texas President Neal Smatresk replied to Shaw in a tweet: “Our Mean Green family values respect and prides itself on inclusion. It is completely unacceptable and not who we are as a community. We acted immediately to identify the person responsible and that person has been terminated.”
We at UNT Dining Services are aware of the receipt situation and are investigating this very serious matter. We sincerely apologize. Those responsible for this will be held accountable.
— UNT Dining Services (@UNTdining) April 17, 2018
But according to Moore, there simply isn’t enough being done. “We wanted to alert the public to what happened, so they can be on the lookout and understand what’s going on,” he said. Moore and his client also have their doubts about the verity of the school’s excuse. He called it “dubious” and told The Daily Beast that Shaw “never saw the cook [come] from behind,” adding “that the cook is black. Even if it was from a black cook or a black worker, we still believe that to be a behavior that’s unbecoming of any vendor on a college.” A lawsuit is forthcoming.
Moore posted the press release to Facebook, where it accumulated almost 18,000 shares in 24 hours’ time.
Many of the commenters agreed with Moore as to the “dubious” nature of the explanation offered to Shaw by the restaurant and the school. Some found it strange the cashier suffered no punishment.
But mostly, people voiced disgust that instances of blatant racism still run so rampant in 2018.
In an email to students and faculty, Smatresk repeated that “It is important to know that both the customer and employee were the same race,” though adds that “regardless of other societal views it is my belief that the use of this term is never OK.”
h/t The Daily Beast