Employees gave biracial co-worker a watermelon with ‘Happy 1/2 MLK,’ ‘Happy Black Day’ written on it
A Michigan bar owner has apologized after his employees gave a biracial coworker a watermelon to mark MLK Day.
Kelly Martin Aimery took to Facebook to describe her outrage when she found out her daughter, who works at Darb’s Tavern & Eatery, had been gifted the watermelon by her coworkers.
“I’ve sat and stewed on this and am furious about this. Decided to post and see what everyone thinks. My daughter got this on MLK Day because her work, including her boss, thought this was OK. It is NOT. Come on people. This is awful on so many levels. She is biracial, hence the Happy 1/2 MLK Day. This is on top of many comments her boss feels free to say to her including “halfsy”. PLEASE SHARE #NOTOKAY #racismstillexists #letsmoveforwardnotback,” Aimery wrote on Facebook.
The owner’s response
On Monday, owner Rob Hearit issued an apology for the incident.
“Many of you have expressed your outrage over this incident, and you are right,” the statement on Facebook reads in part. “I take full responsibility. I saw the ‘gift’ and I didn’t stop it. In fact, in a lapse of judgement, I also joined our employees in signing it. While I thought it was an innocent inside joke between employees who are friends, as the owner I should have recognized the inadvertent message, stepped in and stopped this behavior.”
Hearit also promised to address the incident with sensitivity training.
“I want to thank the members of the community who have called out these incredibly insensitive actions. They do not reflect the values of our staff or the owners. We are committed to using this incredibly huge mistake as an opportunity to learn and grow. That is why all current staff members at Darb’s, myself included, will be undergoing mandatory diversity and sensitivity training,” he wrote.
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