A North Carolina Chick-Fil-A Is Facing Backlash For Alleged Racism

A Charlotte, North Carolina mother says she was appalled to find a racial slur on her daughter's drive-thru order receipt from a local Chick-fil-A.

The fast food restaurant's employees routinely ask for a name to identify a customer's order, but in this case, the woman claims that a racial slur was printed instead of the young woman's real name, Nyiashia. It happened during the 19-year-old's visit on February 13, according to WSOC Charlotte. Nyiashia's mother, April Jackson, said the manager apologized, but she is still calling for the employee to be fired, and is pursuing legal action against Chick-fil-A.

The manager of the Charlotte-area Chick-fil-A maintains that the cashier simply misunderstood the spelling of the customer's name, per WCCB Charlotte. After a local news station posted its story on the incident, one commenter disputed the likelihood for error, noting the difference of spelling between the racial slur and customer's name.

April Jackson posted her outrage on Facebook and received comments and speculations, both by followers who share her anger, and those that believe it was a mistake.

After a 19-year-old's mother posted on Facebook about her daughter's visit to a Charlotte-area Chick-fil-A, commenters shared their thoughts about the reported racist incident. One person suggested the employee in question be fired, saying, "That employee needs to be terminated immediately and I would follow up with a lawyer to see what can happen ..." Another person said they believed the incident was due to the chain's mobile ordering system, writing, "The only way you get these stickers is with a mobile order placed on the app" (via Facebook).

Chick-fil-A has been scrutinized in the media before for racism, as well as sexual harassment in the workplace, and discrimination against employees because of gender, religion, and sexual preference. Once celebrated as a company following pro-Christian values, the company received criticism beginning in 2010 over its donations to evangelical, anti-gay organizations.

In response to the alleged racist incident, Chick-Fil-A issued a statement, saying in part that the incident is being investigated and the chain was trying to reach the customer, "Though we understand this to be a misspelling of the customer's name, that does not negate the impact or experience had by our guests. The operator has started additional training at his restaurant to ensure this doesn't happen again. We sincerely apologize for the harm caused by this incident."