UPS fires worker who thought it was a good idea to wear blackface Halloween costume
"The company has strict policies against harassment and discrimination, and has terminated this individual’s employment with the company," Kim Krebs, a UPS media relations manager, said via email.
A white 25-year UPS employee was fired last week after she showed up for work in Sharonville, Ohio, dressed as a mammy and sporting blackface with enlarged lips on Halloween.
A co-worker sparked controversy after she shared an image of the woman on Facebook on Halloween, asking in a now-deleted post: “HEYYYY EVERYBODY I JUST WANT YA’LL OPINION ON THIS, SHE’S A WHITE WOMAN AND SHE CAME TO WORK AT UPS IN SHARONVILLE, SHOULD SHE BE FIRED????”
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Sharonville UPS worker wore blackface for Halloween costume. She's been fired, company says https://t.co/Z3SpQkiua6 pic.twitter.com/dRW00lb88m
— Enquirer (@Enquirer) November 1, 2018
The names of the blackface-wearer nor the co-worker, who called her out, have not been revealed. The website, Cincinnati, first broke the story that was also was covered by the the Daily Mail.
“Did they allow her to stay her shift dressed that way?” asked one person on the Facebook share, according to the Daily Mail.
The person who shared the photo responded: “No, they marched her a** right out of there.”
Shortly thereafter the person added: “Update, she’s fired.”
The fired employee was dressed as a mammy caricature, often used by whites in a demeaning and exaggerated context to poke fun at Black women who were domestic workers. The woman wore a red dress and polka-dot headwrap to work, with an apron that read: “GET IN MY KITCHEN.”
In the photo, the woman had used black makeup to paint her hands and bright red makeup to exaggerate her lips.
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In the comments section of the Facebook post, the worker went on to reveal that the woman was dancing around in the costume and kept stating: ‘I AIN’T YO MAMA.’
In a statement to the Cincinnati Enquirer, UPS said:
“The company has strict policies against harassment and discrimination, and has terminated this individual’s employment with the company,” Kim Krebs, a UPS media relations manager, said via email. “UPS has no tolerance for hate, bigotry or prejudice.”
This decision to fire the worker came on the heels of a NBC host Megyn Kelly losing her job after she defended whites in blackface.
Kelly, who has been a journalist for over a decade and holds a juris doctor, later claimed she was unaware of the racist history behind the practice, according to the Daily Mail.
Residents of her hometown in upstate New York disputed Kelly’s claim that it was acceptable during her childhood years.
There is now talk that the UPS woman is trying to get her job back through the union.
TheGrio will keep you posted if that does in fact happen.
