Taco Bell Employee Fired For Wearing Black Lives Matter Mask, "#RIPTacoBell" Trends
Denzel Skinner has worked at Taco Bell for eight years as a shift leader in Ohio and, when he showed up to work wearing a Black Lives Matter face mask, he was fired and asked to go home by the manager.
The man uploaded a video to the internet, which has since gone viral.
Skinner explained that the restaurant was provided surgical masks but, because the air conditioning was not working inside of the fast-food joint, it made things hard to breathe. So he packed a BLM mask and wore it instead.
Upper management provided direction to employees that their masks "had to be clean." Skinner says nothing was said about having messages on the masks, which is the reason he was given for his dismissal.
Taco Bell made a statement weeks ago at the height of the protests, claiming that this was an important issue for them.
"We don't tolerate racism or violence against Black people. We're committed to being part of long-term solutions. And we have more work to do," wrote the chain.
Uh, yeah. After this, you've got A LOT more work to do.
"#RIPTacoBell" began trending shortly after the story picked up traction, prompting some people to provide alternatives for their Taco Tuesday needs.
Hopefully, this helps Taco Bell realize that racial injustice and systemic oppression isn't just a trend.