Discrimination and my Mother

My mother came to the United States without speaking English. She got a job and married my father. When I was born, she was a full-time mother and has been one for all my brothers. She's an amazing woman who deserves the utmost respect. When I called her today, she told me she had a bad experience at Target and was writing a letter to their corporate offices. Here's the letter she wrote:

Target Corporation
1000 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55403

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing this letter in regards to my shopping experience on February 28, 2005. First of all, I love Target and I usually have a great time shopping there, but that changed on my recent visit.

I went to the cash register to purchase the items I wanted. There were two items that were 30% off, but appeared at regular price on the register. When I noticed it, I politely told the cashier that the items were on sale. She told me that the items were not on sale because they rang up at full price.

She then slowly emphasized every word and loudly said, "DO---YOU---WANT---THEM---OR---NOT?" She said it in a manner in which I felt she assumed I could not speak English. Her tone of voice was very demeaning. After I told her I would buy them at the sale price, she called another person who approved the sale.

My friend Hope, who is not Hispanic and was with me at the time, was shocked with the treatment I received. During my ordeal, she thought to herself, ‘Why is this woman treating my friend like this? Why is Rebeca being so patient?’ After we left the store, my friend told me that if it had been her, she would have complained.

I did not say anything that day because I wanted to write a letter to your corporate office. What happened to me that day is a perfect example of prejudice and discrimination. If the woman did not understand me, I would have been happy to repeat myself. I have lived here for twenty-one years and my English is very clear. The Hispanic market is very large and growing fast; you do not want to have a reputation of being discriminative against us. Regardless of where we are from, we spend money in your stores and we are all human beings who deserve respect.

I will tell my friends about my experience in Target that day. The purpose of this letter is for your company to use it as an example when you train your employees. I spent $75 that day and I usually spend that or much more each time I visit. I still like Target and will continue to shop there because I know not all of your employees are like the person I encountered.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Rebeca Nix

I sometimes wonder how many times my mother, along with so many other immigrants, have had the experience of being treated as sub-human only because of their skin. People always say racism isn't a problem anymore, but I disagree with them due to experiences like my mother shared with me. Most people are not like the woman my mother encountered, but the problem is still there. I'm glad my mother wrote a letter to stand up for herself--I wouldn't expect anything less from my wonderful Christian mother.