A young lady, Destiny Tompkins, age 19 is taking high street retail brand, Banana Republic to court after the store manager called her braids “too urban.”
According to TMZ, she is filing a racial discrimination lawsuit against the Gap Inc.-owned chain for at least $1 million. The corporate office, store and regional managers are listed as defendants in the suit.
The student who was hired as a sales person in a White Plains, New York store, started wearing braids soon after she began working. According to documents obtained by TMZ on Monday (Nov 13), the manager, a white man who Tompkins identified as Michael on Facebook in October told her that her hair was “too urban” and “unkempt” and didn’t fit BR’s image.
The 19-year-old took the descriptions as Michael meaning the braids were “too Black” and she says after she refused to change her hair, she was removed from the work schedule. And although she wasn’t formally given the pink slip, she was also never assigned any shifts.
On Wednesday, Oct. 4, Destiny Tompkins detailed her situation on Facebook, saying that Michael told her to use shea butter on her hair rather than keep her braids installed.
The retailer told the outlet they wouldn’t “comment on pending litigation.” They also reiterated they have a zero tolerance policy for discrimination and harassment.
Tompkins wrote on her Facebook page saying…
so today I went into work at Banana Republic at the Westchester Mall and after the district manager (a white woman) popped in for a visit, I was told to go to the office to speak with my manager, Michael (Mike), who is a white man. I came in and he questioned me about the dress code and immediately, I thought there was something wrong with my outfit but he sat me down and questioned my hair instead. He told me that my braids were not Banana Republic appropriate and that they were too “urban” and “unkempt” for their image. He said that if I didn’t take them out then he couldn’t schedule me for shifts until I did. When I tried to explain to him that it was a protective style for my hair bc it tends to become really brittle in the cold, he recommended that I use shea butter for it instead. I have never been so humiliated and degraded in my life by a white person. In that moment, I felt so uncomfortable and overwhelmed that I didn’t even finish my work shift and ended up leaving. When my friend’s mom called the store to find out my manager’s last name (only been working there a month so idk it), he refused to give it to her. Box braids are not a matter of unprofessionalism, they are protective styles black women have used for their hair and to be discriminated against because of it is truly disgusting and unacceptable. Make this public bc they need to be exposed for their blatant racism and discrimination. There’s no reason why a white person should feel allowed to tell me that I can’t wear my hair the way that I want bc it’s too black for their store image. Banana Republic
so today I went into work at Banana Republic at the Westchester Mall and after the district manager (a white woman)…
Posted by Destiny Tompkins on Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Photo credit: Destiny Tompkins (Facebook)
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