A Dillard's department store employee in Dallas, Texas has been fired after allegedly hurling the N-word at a Black father who then gracefully explained to the worker—in a video that later went viral—why the slur stings.
"My 10-year-old son heard you call me 'a fucking n-----,'" a man is heard saying in the video that was posted on Instagram. "I want you to know this is unacceptable."
Instagram user Aisha uploaded the video on Monday with the caption, "DILLARDS TRIED TO GET THIS VIDEO REMOVED." The social media user went on to explain that she pulled out her camera when a Dillard's employee in Dallas called her cousin, who was shopping with his little boy, a racial slur after he asked where the fitting rooms were located.
"Unfortunately, a 10-year-old male was exposed to how cruel this world can be towards him BECAUSE OF THE COLOR OF HIS SKIN," Aisha says, "but his father showed him the right way to handle the situation, gracefully."
'You Shouldn't Do That'
In the video, a bald white man in a buttoned-up shirt and glasses leans over a counter with Lacoste items as he listens to a Black man.
"It's unacceptable. You shouldn't do that. You're too old," the Black man says calmly."I carry myself with honor. I would never disrespect any human being by calling them outside of their name," he continues. "You don't know the impact of what you've done to my son. But maybe you were unaware."
The Dillard's employee then tried to defend himself, suggesting he didn't realize the son was with his father.
"It doesn't matter," the father continues, as his family stands behind him. "You shouldn't be speaking that way—period."
"I know that," the employee responds.
"So, if you know that, why do that, man?" the father asks.
The employee continues to try to explain his behavior, then says he'd hurt his leg and tells the father that he worked at the store for over 20 years.
'Treat Human Beings with Respect'
"You don't know what straw could break the camel's back," the father responds.
"I know," the employee says.
"But you disrespected me... and my family," the father says, gesturing towards his child. "But I would never do that to your family or even you. ...I would never treat anybody that way. But I want you to know man to man, that shit's not cool. ...Treat human beings with respect, and morals, and values."
Before the father leaves, he explains to the employee, whom he called "Homer," that he would be having a conversation with his son about how Homer doesn't "have respect for [his] kind, or any human being."
"This isn't a Black or white issue; this is an idiot issue," the father says before walking away and informing the employee that his supervisor has been alerted. Watch the video below:
Dillard's Releases Statement, Says Employee No Longer Working with Them
In the wake of the viral video, Dillard's tweeted saying that Homer's employment with the company had been terminated. "The allegations made against our former employee were promptly investigated, found to be in clear violation of our standards, and his employment with Dillard's was immediately terminated," the company's official Twitter handle wrote.
