Black woman’s first-time car buying experience doesn’t go as planned after ‘racist’ dealership Facebook post
A North Carolina car dealership employee has been fired, and the dealership has released an apology after a Black woman accused a Facebook post about her car buying experience of being racist.
Trinity Bethune told WTVD-TV she was offended on July 22, after seeing the photo the Lumberton Honda dealership posted a photo of her posing in front of the car she had purchased. The caption read, “Congratulations to Bon Quisha on her 2016 Toyota Camry,” which left the 21-year-old confused. Bethune later replied to the post, writing, “I’m not sure if this is a ‘joke’ or something but my name is definitely Trinity Bethune.” Bethune added, “I’m very offended by this post, it’s almost a racial slur. If I’m not addressed by MY name then please don’t address me at all.”
The first time car buyer says she is considering taking legal action against the dealership. She told the news outlet, “the name ‘Bon Quisha’ seems like a stereotype for someone, you know, for them to be like ghetto.” She added, “It’s something people use towards Black people as a racial slur and as an offensive term.” The Urban Dictionary, defines the term as “a loquacious white boy that acts like a Black women as a joke.”
On July 23, the Lumberton Honda dealership released an official apology on Facebook apologizing saying they “regret the recent inappropriate post towards one of our valued customers.” It continued, “The action of this former employee does not represent the views or culture of our company. Lumberton Honda has been part of the community for over 18 years, serving thousands of customers of all ethnicities.”
The company explained that they were unsure of the motivation behind the post. The post has since been deleted, and the employee who uploaded it personally apologized to Bethune. The employee has been fired. The owner of the dealership, who noted he was Native American, says the action of that one individual doesn’t represent their diverse group of employees.
The dealership said the “incident reminds us that there is always room for improvement,” and concluded their statement offering their “sincere apology.” The added, “We are truly sorry.”
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