‘Racist’ post after black woman’s first car buying experience leads to immediate termination
Maria Wheeler
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A North Carolina car dealership fired an employee after making a Facebook post met with backlash from a young woman who purchased a car.
Trinity Bethune, 21, bought her first car Wednesday from the Lumberton Honda dealership and was shocked to see a Facebook post by the dealership reading, “Congratulations to Bon Quisha on her 2016 Toyota Camry.”
Bethune commented on the post, “I’m not sure if this is a ‘joke’ or something but my name is definitely Trinity Bethune. 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 dealership deleted the post, but not before screenshots had gone viral online.
“I feel like my character was played with,” said Trinity. “The name ‘Bon Quisha’ it seems like a stereotype for someone, you know, for them to be like ghetto. It’s something people use towards Black people as a racial slur and as an offensive term.”
Trinity is a personal care assistant in Cumberland County. She was excited to be buying her first car, and proud that the purchase was made with her own money.
“If I’m addressed, I should be addressed as Trinity Bethune,” she stated.
The owner of the dealership maintained that the employee’s actions do not speak for the company. He said that the company is made up of a diverse group of individuals, and that he himself is Native American. He also made clear that the employee who made the offensive post has been fired.
Bethune’s brother Tyrone Jacob expressed his disgust and frustration online in support of his sister. “This is not how I planned to congratulate my little sister on her first car purchase. This is completely intentional, disgusting, unfair, and many other adjectives I could use to describe this situation.”
“Typing Bon Quisha requires effort and intent. I’m outraged that she was publicly humiliated without a public/private apology. I’m waiting to hear back from a couple of my colleagues in the legal space,” he continued.
The Lumberton Honda dealership said they did reach out to Trinity to offer their apologies for the employee’s conduct.