MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A Twin Cities woman says she was harassed last week in her cafe at a Target store in St. Paul.
Aishah, 19, says she and a friend went for coffee inside the Starbucks booth at Midway Target, which is run by the Minnesota-based company.
He said that before he could finish telling the employee behind the counter his name, he saw the employee write something on the side of the mug and hide it from view. She got the drink, which said “ISIS”.
“When I received the drink the first time, I was surprised that something like this could be written in a day and age,” Aishah said.
She asked the clerk about the mug. She says the employee told her that she did not hear his name correctly. She said the manager sided with the employee.
“I felt humiliated. I was furious, ”Aishah said.
Aishah (credit: CBS)
The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) calls for the staff involved to be fired and for additional training for other employees.
A Target spokesperson said the company immediately apologized to Aishah after learning of the incident, saying the employee misheard Aishah’s name. Here is his full statement:
At Target, we want everyone who buys from us to feel welcome, valued, and respected, and we strictly prohibit discrimination and harassment in any form. We are very sorry for this guest’s experience in our store and immediately apologized when she made our store leaders aware of the situation. We have investigated the matter and believe that it was not a deliberate act but an unfortunate mistake that could have been avoided with further clarification. We are taking appropriate steps with the team member, including additional training, to ensure this does not happen again.
Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR Minnesota, denies the explanation.
“This is not a simple mistake. No one puts, you know, the ‘KKK’ in someone’s drink cup, ”said Hussein.
Aishah said the employee never asked how his name is spelled. She also said during the press conference on Monday morning that no one from Target had approached her to apologize.
Target said they would do additional training with the employee involved.
CAIR said they plan to file charges of discrimination with the United States Department of Human Rights and would consider protesting.
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