A department store chain has issued a formal apology to a Black North Texas woman after her annual shopping trip took an infuriating turn. But now, she says her reputation is at risk.
It all started when Dr. Cheryl Jackson planned a trip to a local Dillard’s to honor her late mother. “I went to Dillard’s because every year on the anniversary of my mother’s death, I would buy butterflies [earrings],” Jackson told CBS News. “Because when she passed, butterflies circled me.”
This year was no different. Jackson walked into the department store, planning to exchange some items and pick out butterfly earrings she liked. This time, however, she couldn’t find any earrings she liked, so she turned to leave the establishment. That’s when things escalated.
“When I got ready to walk out the door, an African-American police officer slid in front of me and he said, ‘Give them to me,’” Jackson recalled. The security officer repeatedly insisted Jackson cough up the earrings she allegedly stole, but Jackson— obviously confused by the accusation— stood her ground.
The 56-year-old is the well-known founder of Minnie’s Food Pantry, a non profit organization providing over 16 million meals to children and families in need, according to its FaceBook page. Jackson named her organization after her mother, Dr. Minnie Hawthorne-Ewing.
“My mother would say, Cheryl, your name is all you have, and you protect that with everything within you,” Jackson said. “And she said, ‘You’ve got my name on the top of that food pantry. You protect my name.’ And I said, ‘I will.’ And I fought for that.”
After being accused of shoplifting by security, an unidentified employee approached her, demanding she put back what she stole. That’s when Jackson began filming the rest of the interaction. The 13-minute video posted to YouTube shows the exchange between Jackson, the security guard and two Dillard’s employees.
“Do you have anything in your pocket that you didn’t pay for it,” the male employee asked Jackson before telling her, ‘Our camera said that you had earrings in your pocket, which you didn’t pay for it.’” Eventually the second employee, a woman, came by to reveal the news that Jackson already knew to be true.
“There was a mistake, and we’re so sorry,” she told Jackson before explaining the “missing” earrings had been found. “They located the merchandise that I put back there because I decided not to buy it,” Jackson told the employee. “And what’s in my dang pocket ain’t nothing but my keys.”
An emotional Jackson went on to explain how being accused of stealing could impact her business, especially since the incident happened just two days before her mother’s death anniversary. She was eventually let out of the Dillard’s and the company issued a formal apology. In a statement to CBS, Dillard’s wrote, “We have apologized to Dr. Jackson. We are looking into this matter internally and will take any appropriate action.”
Jackson has since obtained an attorney to help protect her reputation, not to sue the company. “And if Dillard’s is serious, and they are truly sorry about what happened to Dr. Jackson, we want the individuals who falsely accused Dr. Jackson to be terminated,” Dallas attorney Daryl Washington said. “We don’t want an apology. We want them to be terminated, because they have no business in retail.”