CHICAGO (AP) — The CEO of McDonald’s faced increasing criticism and calls for resignation Thursday following text messages he sent to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot where he seemed to blame the deaths of two Black and Latino children killed in gun violence on their parents.
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McDonald’s President and CEO Chris Kempczinski sent texts to Lightfoot in April after meeting with her and referred to shootings that killed two children earlier this year: 7-year-old Jaslyn Adams, a Black girl who was shot in a McDonald’s drive-thru lane and 13-year-old Adam Toledo, a Latino boy who was shot by Chicago police.
“With both, the parents failed those kids which I know is something you can’t say. Even harder to fix,” Kempczinski wrote.
The exchange was made public on social media late last month following a Freedom of Information Act request from Michael Kessler, an American activist living in Canada, who said he was looking into an Oregon police matter and working with Chicago-based transparency group Lucy Parsons Lab.
Chicago organizations have been protesting for days, saying the messages were racist, ignorant and out-of-touch. Jaslyn Adams’ mother has demanded an apology from the CEO, who is white. And U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush of Illinois called this week for Kempczinski to be removed.
“This is a deplorable message, and one that is completely unacceptable for the CEO of a powerful multinational corporation — let alone a corporation that markets aggressively to communities of color and publicly proclaims that ‘Black lives matter’ — to espouse,” the Chicago Democrat said in a statement Wednesday.
A coalition of community groups amplified their demand for Kempczinski to resign Thursday by protesting outside the McDonald’s where Jaslyn Adams was killed. The coalition, which called attention to other racial discrimination complaints the company has faced, called on the fast-food giant to create a $200 million fund over four years to improve life in Chicago, among other things. The group included immigrant rights activists, labor groups and churches.
Earlier this month, Kempczinski sent a note to McDonald’s corporate employees in the U.S., saying he was thinking through his “lens as a parent and reacted viscerally,” according to The Chicago Tribune.
“But I have not walked in the shoes of Adam’s or Jaslyn’s family and so many others who are facing a very different reality,” he said. “Not taking the time to think about this from their viewpoint was wrong, and lacked the empathy and compassion I feel for these families. This is a lesson that I will carry with me.”
McDonald’s has declined to comment to reporters. A message left Thursday for a spokesperson by the Associated Press was not immediately returned.
He isn’t wrong.
saying the truth nowadays counts as oppression.
telling the truth is such a no no in the USA today, you can get fired!
Just like the Rev. Jesse J nothing more than a bunch of shakedown artists. History has shown those $$$ are never well spent.
The problem is a socialist anti American police hating mayor That has refused to stop the violence
I’m not sure where everyone grew up but I myself grew up in West Phily there are parts of West Philly North Philadelphia that are so extremely dangerous that you cannot walk outside by yourself. I didn’t grow up religious I went to public school in a minority district and let me tell you something it is very sad, how a lot of them will only have children so they can get welfare/benefits and when they get benefits and money they use it not for their children maybe some of them but not all of them they use it to get their hair done they use get their nails done I worked in a jewelry store every Friday they would come with their paychecks and blow their money on thousands of dollars they would put it on layaway. Majority of them have so many baby daddies it’s so sad… so in a way I understand what he’s saying what Jesse Jackson is saying and Denzel Washington is saying. my two best friends were black (one of them lived in the hood) like I said I grew up in a majority black neighborhood and I didn’t even grow up in the hood/ ghetto, the ones who really live in those areas it’s just even sadder, if you haven’t grown up with them you can’t understand it is really unfortunate a lot of them live in the hoods and they get so many benefits and they do not want to improve their situation or better themselves. I personally can give a few examples of how some of their parents are not parents some of them do drugs in front of them some of them even give them the drugs to go and sell it like I said some of these neighborhoods are so dangerous and they have gangs I know personally one girl and it’s not only her there’s a lot like this but she ran home because there were a bunch of teenagers who wanted to beat her up and finally when she got home she was pounding on the door her dad answers the door and says what she says there’s a bunch of people who want to beat me up he says told ok … go back and fight for yourself these fights are dangerous and deadly, the way they curse their children out even in public places not privately when they get mad its horrendous, it’s terrible a lot of them are having babies at the age of 14, 15 (let a only earlier) it’s ridiculous.. it is very sad and terrible they still live in a slavery mindset caused by the Democrats… Don’t get me wrong some of them do want to improve themselves and better themselves and get out but unfortunately majority of them don’t
The white boy ain’t wrong yo….. If Jesse Jackson and Denzel Washington was able to say it back then no daddy in the picture in the black community why can’t the white boy say it too … oh yea cuz he white oy, you know what I mean
But don’t get me wrong this can be in every race and in every culture
I hate when all these CEOs and politicians etc etc always fold and apologize under pressure. No. Say what you mean and mean what you say, as you said originally, and stick with it!!
It’s time for parents to grow up and realize having kids is a MAJOR responsibility and don’t become pregnant if you are not willing to take full responsibility for raising and guiding them to lead a moral ethical life.
But the parents must lead the way by example.
The Dollar is dropping drastically!
Please
Shape up!
Be ethical and moral and save yourself and America
I don’t know the parents, nor do I know the director the shootings, but it can be reasonable to believe their parents failed them. The world, especially the Dems have gone so wildly crazy that they don’t seem to think rationally any longer. If a parent allows a child to cross a busy street prior to teaching them how to cross, if the child got hurt or even worse killed, then not only would it be that the parent failed the child, it would be pure negligence. It seems that if that were family were African American then even though it’s clearly negligence, it would be racist to say so. Unbelievable!!!
Sounded to me like he was blaming black parents in general for the violence in the city that has become a normal way of life. Key would being parents…..meaning single parents, no fathers.
I blame the people who shot them. I do not blame the parents of the children who were shot.