For the past month, DeAndre Martin (pictured) claims he has been racially harassed and threatened at his Arnold, Mo., customer service workplace, and after company management has reportedly refused to act on the abuse, Martin has decided to go public with his experience, according to the Huffington Post.
Martin, who is reportedly employed by Convergys, told Fox 2 that he first began receiving the threatening images on July 11th. The first drawing allegedly depicted a Black man hanging from a tree. Just four days later, after ending his workday, another incident allegedly took place: When the 24-year-old man approached his car, which had been sitting in the company’s parking lot, he allegedly saw the word “N*gger” — along with a picture of a noose — spray painted on his car (pictured).
Watch news coverage of Martin’s alleged treatment here:
“You see the N-word and then a big picture of a noose, and that’s a big deal to me,” Martin told Fox 2. “The first time never should have happened, and the second time was over the top. It’s always like a shock and awe but then suddenly anger sets in.”
Upon receiving the racial threats, Martin took his complaints to corporate, informing them that the company’s culture had to change. The young man says Convergys, which has been taken to task before for a religious discrimination issue, reportedly failed to act on Martin’s behalf.
When Fox 2 contacted the corporation, they released a pad statement:
We have received a complaint from an employee that includes disturbing images. These images in no way reflect the Convergys` culture. Please be assured that we are taking the allegation very seriously and it`s under active investigation.
Now Martin is demanding that Convergys not just sweep his complaints under a rug, “I want something this traumatic to be noticed, something has to change, I mean immediately. In my family our goal is to go as far as we can and be the best people we can be. It’s important to treat each other the way we want to be treated; that`s our goal in life,” he said.
Possibly alluding to the George Zimmerman not-guilty verdict, Martin said that the harassment was particularly disappointing in light of “current world events…. “What perfect timing,” Martin observed.
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