McDonald’s condemned one of its restaurants in China, which posted a sign banning black people from entering, NBC News reported Friday.
A sign saying that “black people are not allowed to enter” was displayed at a McDonald’s in Guangzhou, according to NBC News. A viral video shows the sign, instructing customers to “notify the local police.”
Again, for those who still doubt that Black people and particularly #AfricansinChina are being targeted we feel it is our duty to share this. A sign at a @McDonalds restaurant seems to make this perfectly clear pic.twitter.com/FaveKrdQHi
— Black Livity China (@BlackLivityCN) April 11, 2020
McDonald’s said in a statement to NBC News that the sign is “not representative of our inclusive values” and that the sign was removed.
The restaurant was also temporarily shut down to “further educate managers and employees on our values, which includes serving all members of the communities in which we operate,” McDonald’s said in the statement to NBC News.
Africans in Guangzhou have reported being targets of racial discrimination, and were placed by local police under coronavirus quarantine despite no travel history or other risk factors, Time reported. Some Africans say they were subjected to discriminatory testing or even evicted from their homes without cause.
Chinese officials have responded to accusations of racial discrimination by claiming the incidents are based on misunderstanding.
“It is harmful to sensationalize isolated incidents,” the Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe wrote on Twitter April 11. “To misinterpret this as tensions between nations and races is dangerous.”
China has zero tolerance for racial discrimination. pic.twitter.com/7s4peoVGS9
— Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe (@ChineseZimbabwe) April 11, 2020
