A Jenkinson’s shop worker accused of racial bias has been suspended after telling African-American girls to leave her store, according to the amusement park.
Jenkinson’s told Patch on Monday that it would not tolerate discrimination of “any kind.” The employee involved in the Friday incident has been suspended while Jenkinson’s conducts an investigation.
“We clearly missed the mark this time,” Jenkinson’s marketing director Toby Wolf said in an email to Patch. “We sincerely apologize to the girls from the camp group for the way they felt upon leaving. We have been in contact with the group leader and will continue to work with her to make amends.”
Attiyya Barrett of Paterson said in a Facebook post that she was accompanying a group inside the gift shop at Jenkinson’s Aquarium when a woman behind the counter told seven of her girls “you’re not welcome here without a chaperone.”
The group was part of the Princess to Queenz Camp, a tutoring program in the Paterson area that operates during the summer and the school year.
“They left and got a chaperone and went back in. She then said, ‘Didn’t I say YOUS ARE NOT WELCOME HERE! GET OUT!’ ” Barrett said. “The girls ran out crying asking why they couldn’t buy something.”
Barrett said she had to show a lot of constraint even though the incident “left a horrible taste in my mouth.”
“I had to explain to 40 girls that they are still valuable and their green dollars still (count) even if racist folks try to hurt them,” Barrett said.
The incident drew the ire of lawmakers who accused the shop worker of discrimination.
Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly, D-Bergen and Passaic, said the incident at Jenkinson’s Aquarium Gift Shop was “both disgraceful and unacceptable. It will not be tolerated in New Jersey, especially when directed towards children.”
“For many of the young girls in the Princess to Queenz Camp, Friday’s outing was their first-ever trip to the Jersey Shore,” he said. “Instead of being able to purchase souvenirs to commemorate a fun experience, they ended their day facing senseless discrimination over the color of their skin.”
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Wimberly said what transpired at the aquarium “falls right in line with what we’ve seen in Charlottesville and Washington over the weekend.”
“Unfortunately, these types of displays of racism are occurring entirely too frequently in our country,” he said. “It is clear that our racial and political climates are still not where they should be.”
Here is the video:
Photo courtesy of Attiyya Barrett