Supermarket chain Publix has banned employees from wearing face masks and gear that boast support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
The company’s stance is in response to 18-year-old Quinton Desamours, who quit his job at Publix in Lehigh Acres, Florida, after he was sent home earlier this month for writing BLM on his surgical mask, NBC affiliate WBBH in Fort Myers reported.
Desamours explained in a June 6 tweet that “Today @Publix sent me, a Publix employee, home for having ‘BLM’ written on my mask. The assistant store manager told me he doesn’t know if the company is ‘Pro or Con.’ I will no longer be working for publix,” he wrote.
Adding, “Stand for something or you’ll fall for anything! #blacklivesmatterFL.”
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Today @Publix sent me, a publix employee home for having “BLM” written on my mask. The assistant store manager told me he doesn’t know if the company is “Pro or Con”. I will no longer be working for publix. Stand for something or you’ll fall for anything! #blacklivesmatterFL ✊🏾
— Q Desamours (@QDesamours) June 6, 2020
Desamours told WBBH that the assistant manager explained to him that he is “endangering myself and everyone who worked there,” by wearing the BLM mask in the store.
So he quit.
Publix has more than 1,200 locations, mainly located in the Southeast. The company’s uniform policy prohibits political statements or messages not associated with the chain’s brand. According to Desamours, the policy is not enforced equally.
“Many, many employees have different designs on their masks,” he said. “There is an employee that has a comic strip on his mask. So, it seems like they just didn’t like the message I was trying to portray.”
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Got a call from the @Publix District Manager apologizing. They also said they don’t want to be apart of political views. #BlackLivesMatter is not political! The movement is all about Equality. There will be no change until EVERYBODY is 100% IN. Let’s keep fighting. They hear us!
— Q Desamours (@QDesamours) June 9, 2020
In a statement to NBC News, Publix spokeswoman Maria Brous rejected racism but defended the uniform policy.
“At Publix, we reject racism and believe diversity makes our company — and our community — better,” Brous said. “Our focus remains on ensuring a welcoming work and shopping environment for all associates and customers. Our uniform policy does not permit non-Publix messaging on clothing or accessories.”
Three days after the incident, Desamours said he received a call from a Publix district manager who apologized but made clear that “they don’t want to be apart of political views,” the teen wrote on Twitter.
“#Black Lives Matter is not political,” he added. “The movement is all about Equality”
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