According to a report, the corporation staged a Juneteenth observance at a distribution hub located in Kansas City, Missouri, where the only food offered for the workforce was watermelon.This menu choice left the staff feeling slighted.
One worker described the situation as a form of racism that should not be present in the workplace.
From Bizpacreview:
“A slap in the face, very disrespectful, you know. They preach Black lives matter, but kind of like they were making a joke out of us,” Jarret Bolden, a black employee, told FOX4. “Acknowledge us as people. Stop taking us as a joke.”
Juneteenth was made a federal holiday by the Biden administration in 2021 in order to celebrate the official end of slavery in the Confederate states. Although former President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863, hundreds of thousands of slaves were not made aware of their liberation after the Civil War had ended.
“To embrace the Juneteenth holiday, a summer intern coordinated a celebration activity that included a presentation focused on the history, activities and foods of Freedom Day,” a Toyota spokesperson said in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. “This presentation was based on the individual’s personal experience celebrating the holiday with their family. In line with our core value of respect for people, Toyota supports educational activities that bring awareness and understanding of diverse cultures.”
The diversity and inclusion team at the plant is all white, employees told FOX4.
Toyota has not responded to the accusations as of the publishing of this article.
