By In Kent, Washington, a Black Muslim woman was harassed by a teller and was kicked out of a Sound Credit Union Bank for wearing a hijab.
Watch here.
Last Friday, Jamela Mohamed went to make a car payment, and had been wearing a sweater with the hoodie up because it was Jummah. The sign on the bank counter stated “For Your Safety, Please remove: hats, hoods, sunglasses.” However, because the bank doesn’t allow hoods, Mohamed went into her car to put on a hijab. When she returned, the supervisor started yelling at her.
“You don’t take your hood off, I’m calling 911,” the supervisor shouts at her.
“Can I go ahead and get my money back?” Mohamed replies.
“One, two, three” The supervisor immediately slams her hand against the counter and walks towards the back, and later chases Mohamed out of the bank.
Not only was Mohamed embarrassed and given a mere apology from Sound Credit Union, but media platforms are withholding the identity of her perpetrator and not letting her be held accountable for her actions.
The video then switches to Jamela in a car in tears as she says: “I feel so embarrassed right now.”
It is more than obvious that Jamela was targeted, considering not only the fact that the policy does not specify religious garments, but also the fact that a White man walked away from the teller after being helped and was wearing a camo print hat. Nothing was said to him.
Despite the confidence of the supervisor in using the policy to discriminate against Jamela and harass her, Mic posted a video above of the incident, but censored out the supervisor’s face. It’s not as if every media site is doing this, as Metro was able to post a photo of the branch supervisor along with a description of what happened.
Sound Credit Union Bank later tweeted about the incident, and released the statement on their website below:
As a credit union, we believe in equal treatment for all.
See the latest update here: https://t.co/C5Mg4NHpea pic.twitter.com/cqcVmlW2To— Sound Credit Union (@Sound_CU) May 8, 2017
“We have been reviewing a video that was posted to social media that documents an interaction that occurred at the Kent Branch on May 5, 2017.
We did not handle this situation well and we offer our deepest apology to the person involved.
As a credit union, we believe in equal treatment for all. We are revisiting our procedures and training to do everything we possibly can to prevent a situation like this from happening again. Our training will continue to emphasize empathy and sensitivity to all cultures.
Our management team is actively investigating the incident to gather all the facts and circumstances. Until a full investigation is complete, we cannot comment further about the individuals involved.
Updates will be released on this page as they become available.”
Not only was Mohamed embarrassed and given a mere apology from Sound Credit Union, but media platforms are withholding the identity of her perpetrator and not letting her be held accountable for her actions.