Black Marriott exec was allegedly compared to ‘Buckwheat,’ and told to dance for white colleagues
A Black former sales executive for Marriott Vacations Worldwide alleges in a lawsuit that he was often subjected to white supremacist ideology that made his working conditions intolerable to the point where he had to leave the position.
Daryl Robinson began working in February 2017 as a sales executive with the company. As the only African-American employee in the office, several of his white colleagues found it quite challenging to process his “colorful” presence. As such, Robinson says he was asked on multiple occasions to dance by a director of sales during meetings as entertainment for other employees, usually to music by Michael Jackson.
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In his lawsuit, he also alleges that a photo of the character Buckwheat was used to represent him during a team building exercise, nbcnews.com reports.
On another occasion, the director of sales noted that “we have a good looking crew” then looked at Robinson and allegedly said, “Daryl looks ready to breakdance.”
Robinson said his coworkers laughed at the remark while he felt “humiliated, dejected and felt completely defeated.”
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The suit also states that Robinson was not given a cubicle like the other sales reps, instead, he worked out of a “cramped” storage closet that had no air conditioning. He claims his co-workers even questioned if he was put there because of his race.
Robinson says the racism and humiliation took a toll on him and his doctor put him on a medical leave because of his anxiety. He “was forced to give up his employment,” the suit states.
Per the NBC News report, Robinson is suing for unlawful race discrimination, unlawful race harassment, failure to prevent race discrimination and harassment and retaliation for opposing forbidden practices.
Marriott Vacations Worldwide spokesman Ed Kinney told NBC News on Wednesday: “We are aware of the allegations of this suit but as a policy, do not comment on legal issues and matters.”
