Arby's: Stop helping police attack your Black employees
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Arby's: Stop helping police attack your Black employees
UPDATE 9/23/2015: Arby’s told us that they didn’t intend to punish Kenneth, and that he’s being paid while on leave. But that’s not enough. By buckling to pressure from the police group that attacked Davenport, Arby’s helped smear his reputation. And it was recently reported that Kenneth and his family are receiving harassing phone calls with racial slurs at their house.
UPDATE 9/16/2015: More than 40,000 ColorOfChange members have demanded Arby's apologize.
A Florida police union is attacking Kenneth Davenport, a Black teenager working at Arby's.
The police union demanded that he be fired for refusing service to a police officer – something he never did. Arby's admitted he did nothing wrong, but suspended him anyway.
It's an outrageous example of how police associations paint police as victims and use bullying tactics to attack and smear people they identify as enemies. Now, Davenport's career may be damaged because the police group chose to attack him over nothing.
Join us in demanding that Arby's apologize to Kenneth Davenport and clear his name.
Below is the message we'll send to Arby's CEO Paul Brown on your behalf. You can add a personal comment using the space provided.
Dear Arby’s CEO Paul Brown,
I’m outraged that Arby’s has disciplined Kenneth Davenport, a young Black employee targeted by a Florida police union. Your company’s own statements say that Davenport did nothing wrong, but your actions imply otherwise. I’m writing to demand that you immediately allow Kenneth Davenport to return to work, publicly apologize to him, and clear his name.
By taking action against Davenport, Arby’s is helping a police union smear the reputation of a young Black man who was simply trying to do his job. Police unions are among the biggest obstacles to accountability for police, it is clear that this was a crude publicity stunt designed to paint police as victims of anti-police sentiment, at a time when police conduct is rightfully under great scrutiny. It is wrong for Arby’s to help a police union attack and damage Davenport’s reputation, over nothing.
Arby’s depends on Black consumers, and it should think twice about throwing its Black employees under the bus just to give police unions what they want.
Sincerely,
[your name here]