Danville, VA – A delivery driver in Danville claims a woman refused to let him into her home because he’s black. He says what hurts more is that his employer went along with it.
Marcus Bradley says he has been an employee of Lowe’s Home Improvement in Danville for 11 years. He says last Monday was an ordinary day on the job as a delivery driver for Lowe’s.
“Then I got a phone call on the phone telling me to bring the delivery back. Saying that I couldn’t do the delivery,” said Bradley. “I asked him why I couldn’t do it and he said because you’re black and they don’t want you at the house.”
Bradley says he was told the customer specifically asked Lowe’s not to send a black delivery person. Alex Brooks says he’s worked with Bradley for nearly 11 years and that he was with him in the truck when the call came in.
“To me, it just ain’t right for a business that we work at to go on with the woman’s wishes,” said Brooks.
But Brooks says that’s exactly what happened. He says when the two returned to the store, Bradley was replaced by a white driver.
“It was one of those things like, ‘These guys will get over it. They’re tough guys, they’re delivery guys and that’s kind of where I just had to put my foot down and say I couldn’t do it with them,” said Brooks.
ABC-13 went to the home where the two say the delivery took place. When asked her side of the story, the woman who came to the door said, “I got a right to have whatever I want and that’s it.”
When asked if she feels bad about the delivery driver the woman responded, “No, I don’t feel bad about nothing.”
“I mean, I thought that Lowe’s would take up for me,” said Bradley.
Although Bradley is saddened by the way he says the situation was handled, he plans to still be at work tomorrow.
“I mean I gotta work. I’m going to keep going to work like I’ve always done. But I would think Lowe’s would take it into consideration to think about what they’re doing next time,” said Bradley.
We brought this to the attention of the Lowe’s corporate office last week, and they said they’d look into it. Wednesday, we received this statement:
“Diversity and inclusion is a core value at Lowe’s. The situation brought to our attention was troubling and an investigation was immediately undertaken. Under no circumstances should a discriminatory delivery request be honored as it is inconsistent with our diversity and inclusion core values and the request should have been refused. The investigation has concluded and the individuals involved are no longer with company”