Dillard’s, the department store, has fired an employee at its Dallas location after he referred to a Black father as a “n****r.” A viral video posted to Twitter shows the father responding with poise and wisdom after being insulted.
“My 10-year-old heard you calling me a ‘f**king n****r,'” the customer told the employee. “It’s unacceptable. You shouldn’t do that… You don’t know the impact of what you done to my son.”
While the man mumbled a response to defend himself, the father eloquently continued his speech.
“You shouldn’t be speaking that way period,” he said. “Why do that, man?”
The now terminated employee came back with another incoherent explanation, saying he had an outburst after he hurt his leg. Still, the the shopper proceeded with his statement.
“You disrespected myself and you disrespected my family,” he said. “I would never treat anybody that way. But I want you know man-to-man, that s**t is not cool.”
Hoping to help the employee understand the value of kindness, the father said he has experienced several tragedies in the past, losing his mother, mother-in-law and sister.
“You don’t know what mental state the next human being could be in,” he said. “It wouldn’t be a cop, it wouldn’t be a security guard, it wouldn’t be nobody that can stop from getting on your ass if I wanted to. … It doesn’t matter about the age. Treat human beings with respect and morals and values.”
Before leaving the store, the father vowed to go home and teach his 10-year-old about respect.
“Everybody heard you say it,” the customer said. “I want the whole store to know that you was dead wrong.”
A racist employee at a Dillard’s in Dallas calls a father the n-word before being confronted by him in a very graceful way pic.twitter.com/W4mo6ygOio
— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) July 29, 2022
As the backlash unfolded on social media, Dillard’s responded with a brief statement.
“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 wrote.
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.
— Dillard’s (@Dillards) July 29, 2022
One Instagram user, who identified themselves as a cousin of the father, said the employee’s name is Homer.
“The Black Man (my cousin) in this video (Who spoke so eloquently and respectful) wanted to try on an item,” the Instagram user wrote. “He asked Homer… where’s the fitting room? Homer pointed the man in the direction and as Homer walked away he said, F**king N****rs.'”
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The cousin also said the father asked for a manager, but another associate said a manager wasn’t available on that day.
