The Guelph Black Heritage Society is calling for a boycott of all McDonald's restaurants in town after an incident last month left a Black customer angry and humiliated.
It’s the first time that the Guelph Black Heritage Society has ever boycotted a local business, said GBHS president Denise Francis.
“We’re just appalled at the treatment at a local business,” said GBHS’s president Denise Francis.
The customer, Michael Campbell, reached out to multiple media outlets in January to share a story where he was left feeling humiliated after he was asked for photo identification after his food order for his family totalled $93.18.
He said he was told it is store policy to validate the signature at the back of a customer’s credit card with a photo ID for purchases over $25.
Campbell, the GBHS and many others believe he was asked to validate his signature because he was Black.
Jennifer Antolin, who owns all of Guelph's McDonald's locations, says the incident was unfortunate and an "incorrect process" was used, but was not racially motivated.
Francis said after speaking with Campbell and other community members, the GBHS felt it needed to bring awareness to the situation.
“So often people tell us racism doesn’t happen in Guelph and Wellington County. Well, this is a tangible example and a recent example of it happening. This is about bringing awareness about what’s happening.”
She said she had never heard of any such policy in the past, and McDonald’s needs to do some unlearning and retraining, and their owner needs to step up.
“Change cannot be made if you’re unaware of what’s happening,” said Francis.
Many white commenters on social media say they have made similar purchases of similar amounts at McDonald's in Guelph and have never been asked to provide identification or a signature.
“Despite claims from the owner Jennifer Antolin, that this incident was not racially motivated, it cannot be overlooked that after many years of being customers of the chain, none of the GBHS staff and members have ever experienced this policy,” said an official statement by the GBHS.
“The GBHS stands in solidarity with Michael Campbell and encourages all community members to join us in this action.”
The GBHS said it contacted Antolin but never heard back.
Antolin did respond to GuelphToday’s request for comment through McDonald’s Canada.
“I am deeply saddened for Mr. Campbell’s experience. I have spoken with Mr. Campbell on a number of occasions to share my sincere apologies and inform him of the action we’re taking. The process used in this instance was incorrect and we have taken steps including communication and re-training of staff to ensure this is not repeated,” said Antolin’s statement.
“As a member of the Guelph community, I want my restaurants to be a place where everybody feels welcome and safe. I take the incident reported seriously — this is not the kind of experience we ever want any of our guests to have.”
She said she remains committed to providing a safe, respectful, and inclusive space for all guests and employees in her restaurants. “I am therefore hoping to meet with community members to listen, learn and continue to take meaningful steps forward together,” said Antolin.
Campbell said that the fact Antolin didn't respond to GBHS suggests her claim to being willing to listen and learn from community members was insincere.
“My interaction with Jennifer was one of her being condescending, being aloof, being so far removed, so privileged,” said Campbell. “Or maybe she just didn't care to do a thorough investigation.”
He said if the store has a policy to ask for identification for charges of over $25 like Antolin says it does, Antolin should be able to answer basic questions such as how many times people spent over $25, how many customers were asked for identification and how many days of the week the employee who asked Campbell for identification worked.
“Those are the three basic questions, and if you're not able to answer those questions and be like ‘Oh, we didn't look into that,’ that means that when you’re telling me you've done a thorough investigation, I'm either not worth it, or you're just basically dismissing me or telling me what you think you I want to hear or lying to me either way,” said Campbell.
The area farmer said he received overwhelming support, especially from the Guelph Black Heritage Society, the Christian Farmers Federation Of Ontario, and the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors.
"The GBHS is the one that has really been shining a light on this. And they've also offered me support from community members, businesses in the community and so forth," said Campbell.
“You know, privilege. It doesn't matter what form it comes in. I hear people talk about white privilege. I'm just going to use the word privilege against certain people really removed from reality, and that's it. She has zero clue how it feels for me to have that experience, come home and watch my children walk on eggshells, my wife walking on eggshells because they know something is wrong. They don't know what it is. They don't know if they've done something. They don't know anything."
An official statement from McDonald’s Canada in response to the incident stated that McDonald’s Canada and its franchisees do not tolerate racism or discrimination of any kind.
“However, we know that we are not perfect, which is why we are working continuously to educate our entire system of nearly 100,000 employees across more than 1,400 restaurants to ensure we are living up to our ambition,” said McDonald’s Canada.
