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Link here, with Change.org petition
The station's Facebook page
Summary: A black female meterologist in my city was fired recently for choosing to respond to comments about her hair. She wore it in a short afro, and one viewer said on Facebook that she looked like a cancer patient and suggested she either grow it out or wear a wig. She responded to the comment, rather politely in my opinion, that she was proud of her heritage and didn't feel the need to change anything.
Later, she responded to someone who complained that the needy children picked for the station's "3 Minute Smile" (an event where the winner gets 3 minutes to run through Toys R Us with a shopping cart and keep whatever he can grab within that time frame) are always black. Again, politely, after the message had sat on the station's Facebook page for 6 days without comment or correction, she explained that the drawing for that is random and it shouldn't matter what color the child is, as long as they have a good time. (My note: the demographics of this area means that the children submitted for this drawing are likely majority black, therefore the fact that a black child always gets chosen is due to statistics and is not especially racist.)
She was essentially fired because the station has an unwritten policy regarding responses in social media. The policy was discussed in a meeting she did not attend, was never written down, and is not in any employee handbook. It is unclear if the policy was ever discussed with her after the meeting.
The station also 'liked' a racist comment (the update on the petition say "the racist comment" but doesn't clarify which one) on its own Facebook page, which the creator of the petition says is the station violating its own policy that it just fired Ms. Lee for.
The station's Facebook page
Summary: A black female meterologist in my city was fired recently for choosing to respond to comments about her hair. She wore it in a short afro, and one viewer said on Facebook that she looked like a cancer patient and suggested she either grow it out or wear a wig. She responded to the comment, rather politely in my opinion, that she was proud of her heritage and didn't feel the need to change anything.
Later, she responded to someone who complained that the needy children picked for the station's "3 Minute Smile" (an event where the winner gets 3 minutes to run through Toys R Us with a shopping cart and keep whatever he can grab within that time frame) are always black. Again, politely, after the message had sat on the station's Facebook page for 6 days without comment or correction, she explained that the drawing for that is random and it shouldn't matter what color the child is, as long as they have a good time. (My note: the demographics of this area means that the children submitted for this drawing are likely majority black, therefore the fact that a black child always gets chosen is due to statistics and is not especially racist.)
She was essentially fired because the station has an unwritten policy regarding responses in social media. The policy was discussed in a meeting she did not attend, was never written down, and is not in any employee handbook. It is unclear if the policy was ever discussed with her after the meeting.
The station also 'liked' a racist comment (the update on the petition say "the racist comment" but doesn't clarify which one) on its own Facebook page, which the creator of the petition says is the station violating its own policy that it just fired Ms. Lee for.
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