I’ve read this exact story (involving different people) way too many times. (And obviously most such cases get no media attention.) This kind of overt racism is just the tip of the iceberg, too, as banks are pretty well known for a whole legion of (somewhat more) subtly discriminatory practices that have enormous impacts on economic equality in this country.
18 Likes
Same thing happened several times to my mother 20 and more years ago, a 60ish grey-haired black woman, who was also a mathematician and teacher. She would be routinely asked for fingerprints when attempting to cash or deposit checks (which never happened to her white friends), and once a teller at a bank that she had an account at for years called the cops on her. She got a nice payout for that one.
28 Likes
I disagree, this would have been the worst thing to do. She has so much on her to to win a lawsuit the idea of throwing a Karen temper tantrum is absurdly foolish.
Dr. Mitchell was far more intelligent and measured in her approach. Everything from the racist low level employees to company policy becomes fair game Chase must answer for.
I find it hard to believe that Chase would allow themselves to be exposed to this level of liability on purpose (although I’m sure it’s possible). They will want this to go away as soon as possible and offer her a very large settlement out of court. It will be curious to see if she accepts, or instead the full lawsuit play out.
Either way she will likely prevail in ways an idiotic Karen could only dream of.
23 Likes
Beyond racism, banks seem terminally stupid when people come in to give them money like this.
Two phone calls would have verified things: "Do you have a Doctor so and so on your staff? Can you describe her? And one to the issuing bank to verify funds.
At the worst they accept the check but put a hold on funds until it clears which is common enough for large deposits.
Only thing I do not understand is why she came back with her mother. Unless Mom was an attorney I do not see what she thought that would accomplish.
Hard to argue this was anything other than overt racism.
7 Likes
Some of the ugly racist history of Sugar Land, the town (now Houston suburb) where this happened:
11 Likes
I’m a white guy, but twice in my life did I get just a whiff of what Black people go through. Back in 1999, I was a young guy with a very good job. (I was making 50k to 60k then, which would be about 100k today) However, I looked pretty scruffy. I hadn’t bother to cut my hair at least two or three months. Same with a beard. I wore dumb t-shirts and jeans.
I ended up losing my ATM card, and back then, you had to go back to the bank branch to get a new one. I show up, tell the guy at the info desk what I need, and he gives me this curt, “You need to take better care of it. It costs $X dollars to replace it. Do you have that money?” Really rude. I wait forever, and then very same guy comes over, and suddenly, I’m “Mr. Robotmonkeys”, and sweet as can be he gives me my card, and tells me they’re waving the fee. The only thing that changed, was that the guy saw my balance.
The other time was around that same time. I was looking for a wedding present for a friend, and every clerk pointed ignored me, to help other people. I didn’t say a word, because honestly, it was turned into kind of a private joke. I started wondering if they were going to call security and ask me stop loitering, rather than help me.
No way does these two experiences come close to the Black experience, but they made me empathize just a bit more.
23 Likes
… and shooting skyrockets and aerial bombs out of every orifice.
6 Likes
Going full on Karen doesn’t even work for the Karens.
The women (and men) who act out Karenesque style are doing so because they are not being treated the way they think they should be treated because of their skin color, the way they are dressed, income, or some other superficial indication of status.
ETA: Having said that, I completely understand the impulse to anger here for (and on behalf of) the customer. [Insert numerous table throwing Gifs here.]
12 Likes
Here’s the classic one for ya:
20 Likes
Thanks. That’s my fave.
11 Likes
De nada.
RIP Alan Rickman; he is missed.
17 Likes
What you experienced is the low-level discrimination in services poor people enjoy for not looking “rich” enough in the “wrong” place. My credit union doesn’t play these games.
26 Likes
“We take this matter very seriously” = “We don’t give a stuff unless you sue us or make us look bad publicly”
Just like Facebook.
7 Likes
@Carla_Sinclair
Why would a Black-owned magazine remove a story critical of JP Morgan Chase, and actively redirect the URL of said critical story to that of one painting them in a more positive light in the Black community?!
beeditors@blackenterprise.com Perhaps their editors can explain.
Or perhaps the original author http://twitter.com/KAraujoNWT of the piece can explain
Here’s the web archive of the original article:
BANKING WHILE BLACK: A Texas Doctor Sues Chase Bank And Two Employees For $1 Million After Being Racially Profiled (archive.org)
7 Likes
Oh I know exactly what I experienced. It still made me empathize with others’ experiences based on how they looked though.
2 Likes
16 Likes
Want to really, really get the attention of fools like this bank? Buy just one share in the company. Just one WTF moment; or a hahahah ‘we don’t have any change’, or anything similar in ANY way…
Write the investor relations end of things.
That, that is what gets the response. The hahaha party gang at the bank is either fired, dispersed to different branches; or has their ‘careers’ put on hold for a period of time.
Customer service; pffff. Community relations, pfff. Write the ‘how bank make money’ side of things. That is what puts the correct on s**tshows like this.
Being as how this is also a lady of color; yeah. When local community pulls several dozen (or more) K out of that bank in particular. Yeah.
That too quickly fixes things.
Direct deposits via SSI, Social Security, Pensions, etc - move those too.
Things quickly change; and for the better.
Can’t call it inside correction; but shares of most corporations aren’t like, thousand dollar items.
“Hi. I’ve invested here. Why the F are things being ran this way; who is poorly handling my investment; and you know what - I’ve probably got some buds and buddettes that can do things much better, for less money; and make the corporation more money”.
It is a very modern way of (respectfully) no longer riding the bus, so to speak.
.
I hope she has better luck depositing her settlement check from these racist bastards. If not, perpetual settlements…
3 Likes
