Racist New Jersey gift shop worker fired after kicking out Black summer camp students
A spokesman for Jenkinson's Aquarium Gift Shop at Point Pleasant Beach said "the incident does not reflect the core values of the boardwalk."
The hard-hearted employee who kicked a group of Black girls from a summer camp out of a New Jersey gift shop, has been fired after an outcry on social media, the Daily Mail reports.
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The group of bright-eyed black girls from Princess to Queenz day camp in Paterson, were eager and ready to buy trinkets at the Jenkinson’s Aquarium Gift Shop at Point Pleasant Beach, but were kicked out after the woman named ‘Linda” said they didn’t have a chaperone and they were not welcome in the shop, according to reports
The girls were browsing the shop alone and even after they were and got their chaperone, the employee demanded they leave anyway.
After the heartbreaking video of the racist encounter, recorded by camp director Attiyya Barrett, made its rounds on social media, Jenkinson’s spokesman Toby Wolf confirmed Tuesday that the store worker was terminated.
“This incident does not reflect the core values of the boardwalk,” Wolf said.
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“In our 90-year history, Jenkinson’s has always been and will continue to be the place where people from all races, religions, ages, genders, and cultures are welcome.”
The video has been viewed more than 3 million times on Facebook and caused outraged.
The magic in their hearts fizzled and tears started to stream down the little girls’ faces after the employee yelled at the 12 and 13-year-old girls to get out of the store.
Barrett, who heads an organization that offers summer camps and tutoring programs for children, posted the video and pressed Linda about what had occurred. The seven girls who went in the store were part of a larger group of 40 girls between seven and 14 years old from Paterson, New Jersey, on a trip organized by Barrett’s organization, Princess to Queenz.
“You guys love to get your phones out to record,” Linda is seen saying to Barrett.
“’Cause they didn’t have a chaperone,” replied the worker.
“And when they went and got their chaperone, what was your reason?” asked Barrett.
Linda replied, “I didn’t think she was a chaperone.”
“And when she was explaining, what did you just say? What did you just say?” Barnett demanded.
Linda replied, “They’re not welcome in here.”
‘I’ve never been in a situation like that before… it was a pretty bad experience because we didn’t do anything wrong,’ Kierra Williams, 12, told northjersey.com.
Jenkinson’s called up the director and they apologized for the incident.
