Jazmine Sullivan calls out Macy’s employee for alleged racism on Juneteenth
Sullivan didn't give specifics but says that she had a negative experience while shopping at a suburban Philadelphia Macy's.
Singer Jazmine Sullivan is calling out an employee at the major retailer Macy’s.
The “Pick Up Your Feelings” singer is calling out the retail giant after she had what she says was a racist encounter with an employee at one of the store’s suburban Philadelphia locations.
She said the incident occurred on Saturday, which was also Juneteenth, per Love B Scott.
“Wow to look racism in the eye, and especially on Juneteenth was a wakeup call,” wrote Sullivan on her Instagram Story.
“Mary King at Willow Grove Macy’s look of disgust while ringing up my boyfriend’s mother will forever be etched in my mind.”
As reported by theGrio, the president signed Juneteenth into law as a federal holiday. It originated in Galveston, Texas where more than 200,000 enslaved Black people were told two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued that they were free.
That was months before the 13th Amendment was in place to officially eradicate slavery.
“An honest mistake (the store’s mistake btw) should’ve been met with understanding and kindness,” she added. “But if you’re prejudice and prejudge people as soon as they walk up to the register then that’s obviously too much to ask. Newsflash Mary…Black people got money, good jobs and ain’t tryna get over on your boy cut frumpy looking racist a**.”
She concluded the post, “Thank God for the Black employee who tried to rectify the situation (that u didn’t listen too. I wonder why u didn’t take her advice Mary?). This coulda went a whole different way. U need to be grateful we know Jesus b***h!”
Though Sullivan singled out the employee and not the store, Macy’s has had a checkered history with race allegations. Back in 2018, the store was in hot water for posting an ad that many considered racially insensitive and promoted negative stereotypes of Black families.
“Hey @Macys what’s wrong with this picture?” tweeted out Cincinnati City councilman Jeff Pastor.
The Christmas ad featured four families but the image portrayed the only Black woman as a single mother.
“It’s not like they did it with ill intent. But it’s somebody within diversity and inclusion missed that picture,” said Pastor to NBC12 at the time.
The company released a statement about the matter to apologize.
“We appreciate everyone who reached out to share feedback about our holiday pajama product images on Macys.com – we want our customers to tell us when we don’t get it right.
We apologize. It was certainly not our intent to offend anyone.”
The department store was also the butt of jokes back in 2020 when it referenced Divine 9 Greek organization Zeta Phi Beta Sorority as a “diverse dance group.”
“What’s that sound, you ask? Why it’s the diverse dance group, Zeta Phi Beta Steppers! Performing a special routine they put together to help us celebrate this unprecedented year. #MacysParade,” read the caption after the organization performed at Macy’s annual Thanksgiving Day parade.
Macy’s deleted the tweet, but not before many on Twitter were able to call them out. One user said, “Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. ain’t exist for 100 years just for Macy’s to call them a ‘diverse dance group.’
Additional reporting by April Ryan and Chinekwu Osakwe
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!
