Subway manager fired over use of racial slur
In yet another new report about Black customers being harassed and asked to leave a business, cops were once again called to police the situation.
According to a report by Alabama Media Group, the manager at a Birmingham Subway was fired this week after a video went viral of her spewing racial slurs at a fellow employee’s family.
The incident happened at the Subway on Valley Avenue, where customer Antuan Pace and his sister were caught up in the moment. Pace uploaded video of the heated exchange to his Facebook page Wednesday, along with the caption: “RACIST SUBWAY MANAGER FIRES BLACK EMPLOYEE BEFORE FIRST DAY OF WORK……. (MANAGER AND HUSBAND ATTACKS EMPLOYEE’S BROTHER!!!…….)”
Facebook has since removed the two-minute clip, which shows the reported manager- identified as April – repeatedly screaming at Pace and others to get out of her store.
“I’m fixin to slap the (expletive) phone out of your hand,” she says. Although the video goes dark, the confrontation can still be heard as she continues to ask them to leave. But Pace tells her that she was the one who invited them in.
“I called you in here to have an adult conversation with you to stay out of my store because it’s not a (expletive) rest area,” she tells Pace.
As they were leaving, she said, “Get out of my (expletive) store” and then called him a racial slur.
“I got you on camera stupid mother (expletive). You’re fired,” Pace fired back. He then reported the incident to Birmingham activist Carlos Chaverst Jr., who announced in a press release that a peaceful protest was being planned outside the eatery.
Chaverst noted that the manager assaulted Pace twice – first slapping the phone out of his hand, and then physically pushing him out of the store.
“This is the type of actions we are seeing across the country,” he said. “Why are we calling the police on black folks for everything? This stuff is happening too often.”
“We are very upset that this happened and it does not reflect our core value to respect every individual,” said a Subway spokesperson in a statement. “We welcome all guests to our restaurant and given the unacceptable behavior of the manager, she no longer works for us. We take this very seriously and have suspended operations until the staff has completed retraining in proper guest interaction.”
A sign on the door at the restaurant said it was closed for employee training. Chaverst hopes the company implements required sensitivity training for all employees nationwide.
“It is in Subway’s best interest to work with our local communities and allow us to help them find ways to solve issues instead of creating them,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pace said he feels “violated” by the ordeal and his sister, who was reportedly fired during the incident, has been left depressed by the experience but he’s helping her find a new job.
No arrests were made related to the incident but Pace said he plans to press charges against the woman for the physical attacks.
