Month: October 2009

Filed under: News

I mentioned the story before about Heather Ellis, the young woman who was threatened by the KKK after protesting about her arrest that took place in a Walmart store. The story was quite interesting in that Ellis now faces 15 years in prison for effectively cutting line at a Walmart. The unfortunate events occurred when Ellis was shopping with a cousin in Kennett, Missouri.

Heather and her cousin went to separate lines and when her cousin found the shorter line, Heather joined him. Ellis was then accused of cutting line by the person checking out customers, which led to an altercation. When Ellis was asked to leave the store, she argued with the managers, which led to the police being called. Ellis was eventually charged with disturbing the peace, resisting arrest and two counts of assaulting a police officer.

Ellis, a college student on her way to medical school, argues that the charges were not appropriate, particularly since she doesn’t have a history of this kind of behavior. She now faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Ellis has publicly protested the DA’s decision to push the case forward, which has led to her receiving threats from the Ku Klux Klan. The African American community is working to help Heather now, as a website has been set up for an online protest and petition fighting to support Heather’s case.

The question here, from a business standpoint is whether or not Walmart could have done something to avoid this situation. Some people think so.

Dr. Towanna Freeman, a management consultant, argues that Walmart could have avoided the entire problem by paying greater attention to customer service.

“Regardless of a person’s ethnicity, gender, or sexual preference, this case started when the cashier failed to convey at least one of the core beliefs and values of Sam Walton: ‘Customers are the reason we’re in business, so we should treat them that way.’,” says Dr. Freeman. “With that said, the cashier could have easily interjected and calmed the angry crowd by saying something like, ‘Excuse me, although we don’t promote cutting lines, please allow me to assist this customer now. This will only take a few minutes. Thank you, for your patience.’”

The case for Heather Ellis is heating up. I’ve made some calls around the country and it appears that the case might finally get the attention it deserves. Also, the Your Black World Coalition is going to get involved, along with the National Action Network, to ensure that this young lady’s case is carefully analyzed. The bottom line, however, is that this incident should never have happened and Walmart has engaged in bad business by allowing its stores to be the center of such a racially-charged controversy.

There is the added reality that Kennett, Missouri is Rush Limbaugh country. Respect for African Americans in the legal system of this town is not what it should be, and the more emails I receive about past indiscretions in this region, the more I am starting to wonder if Heather was going to be treated fairly in the first place. The presence of the KKK doesn’t help their case and only serves to remind us that we do not live in a “post racial America.”

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and the 2007 Black Speaker of the Year. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. To follow Dr. Boyce on Twitter, click here. If you wish to find out more about the case of Heather Ellis, please visit www.SaveHeatherEllis.com.

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