Black Woman Says She Was Racially Profiled At T.J. Maxx In Viral TikTok
By Jovonne Ledet
September 30, 2024
A Black woman says she was racially profiled by workers at a T.J. Maxx store in Wisconsin.
In a now-viral TikTok video, Sophia Madrid tearfully recalled her shopping experience with her boyfriend at T.J. Maxx in Racine, Wisconsin.
Madrid said she and her boyfriend visited the store to shop for purses. While she was shopping in the purse section, Madrid said she spotted several workers staring at her and her boyfriend.
Madrid's boyfriend said several employees approached them back-to-back asking whether they needed help.
“The lady at the front was staring at us as soon as we walked in,” the man said. “The lady who was at the front, she starts standing by the door like trying to guard it.”
Madrid said she also overheard associates talking to each other through their radios about monitoring her and her boyfriend. The treatment continued even after they went to the checkout line and purchased four handbags.
In her initial TikTok video, Madrid said she was questioning whether to return the items after her experience.
“I just feel so disrespected, like that was so dehumanizing,” Madrid said. “I felt so humiliated in that moment. I didn’t come here to be mistreated, I came here to shop for bags and now I don’t even want them anymore.”
@sofireee3 I get I may be sensitive but I’ve never experienced racism and discrimination so apparent from anyone or any place. This is my second bad experience at TJMaxx and I’ve only been one other time before this. I will never spend my money with any of these companies branched with TjMaxx (Marshall’s, Homegoods, etc.) In no way am I looking to receive validation from anyone either but I’ve never felt so disrespected by a discounted store. Like I was super happy to have found certain items they had and all for the experience to be turned upside down. I’ve never stolen anything a day in my life and these employees had the nerve to make it seem like every black person that steps foot in their stores are criminals. Never again. @TJ Maxx
♬ original sound - sofireee
The TikTok video garnered millions of views and thousands of comments condemning the employees' behavior.
Madrid made a follow-up video, saying she reported the incident to the retailer and was sent a gift card and a phone number for a customer service representative.
“They offered us a $500 gift card, I feel like that’s a way of just kind of like, slapping the associates on the wrist and moving on,” Madrid said. “I don’t care how many times thefts have taken place at your store, you don’t get to falsely accuse people of color as soon as they walk in just because you assume that they are going to steal something.”
Madrid said she hopes T.J. Maxx will better train store workers to serve communities of color.
“All we want is a heartfelt apology from the associates involved. We could care less about a gift card that we will ultimately never use,” Madrid captioned her TikTok. “We will NEVER be stepping foot in this establishment and supporting their business again.”
@sofireee3 We shouldn’t have to prove our innocence in these stores because they have a perceived narrative toward people of color. It is so upsetting that you guys have experienced similar treatment. All that we ask of the location is for them to be properly trained once more in how to care for our community without being passive aggressive and enforcing stereotypical viewpoints. We hope that the corrective action will resonate with these individuals and allow them to self-reflect on their morals and what they personally believe in. We have also received a generic response from TJMaxx’s social media in which they’ve stated: “Hi Sophia, We were disappointed to learn about your recent experience at one of our stores. Our customer service team would like to hear from you. Please let us know the best phone number to reach you, or give us a call at 1-800-926-6299. Thank you.” Again, I’d like to reiterate that their official page for the Racine location deleted the multiple reviews concerning the way we were treated. We appreciate every last one of you for your kind words and will be attemping to personally respond to every single one of you.❤️ All we want is a heartfelt apology from the associates involved. We could care less about a gift card that we will ultimately never use. Similarly, it just arrived today and they couldn’t even get my name right; I don’t know who “Sophia Banks” is. This is clearly a direct reflection on how they’re going about the situation. Tone deaf and invalidating our emotions. We will NEVER be stepping foot in this establishment and supporting their business again. Thank you all for supporting us and unifying over the situation! Racial profiling is unequivocally disgusting in 2024, and we cannot let these big corporations keep getting away with this.
♬ original sound - sofireee
A T.J. Maxx spokesperson released the following statement amid the backlash, per Atlanta Black Star.
“At TJ Maxx, we are committed to fostering an environment where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, and we deeply regret that the recent experience of our customer in our Racine store did not reflect this,” the spokesperson said. “We want to make this right. Our leaders have had multiple conversations with our customer to express our sincere disappointment in her experience and explain the actions we are taking to help ensure this does not happen again in our store. This includes a thorough review of what happened with the Associates involved as well as using this as an opportunity to speak with all of our Racine Associates about our expectations for proper customer engagement.”
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