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A car dealership in North Carolina was under hot water for its racist Facebook post that angered hundreds of people on social media.
When Trinity Bethune – a Black woman – purchased a 2016 Toyota Camry at a Honda dealership in Lumberton, the dealership referred to the new customer as "Bon Quisha" in a now-deleted Facebook post.
According to Urban Dictionary, "Bonquisha," is a term defined as:
"a loquacious white boy that acts like Black women as a joke."
Below is a screenshot of the Lumberton Honda dealership's now-deleted post.
Tyrone Jacob/Facebook
Bethune – a 21-year-old personal care assistant in Cumberland County – commented on the offensive post before it was taken down to set the record straight about her name.
"I'm not sure if this is a 'joke' or something but my name is definitely Trinity Bethune," she said.
"I'm very offended by this post; it's almost a racial slur. If I'm not addressed by MY name, then please don't address me at all."
@MichaelLozano/Twitter
Her older brother, Tyrone Jacob, posted a screenshot of the photo on Facebook and expressed his frustration.
"This is not how I planned to congratulate my little sister on her first car purchase. This is completely intentional, disgusting, unfair, and many other adjectives I could use to describe this situation."
"Typing Bon Quisha requires effort and intent. I'm outraged that she was publicly humiliated without a public/private apology."
"I'm waiting to hear back from a couple of my colleagues in the legal space, but please tell me if this is something my family should explore."
He concluded by informing followers about her state of distress over the situation.
"She's not well at the moment. If you know her, please send love her way."
The Fayetteville Observer reported that the employee who made the post was allegedly fired and personally apologized to Bethune.
The Lumberton dealership released a statement on Friday before 6 p.m., saying:
"Lumberton Honda and our entire staff sincerely apologize and regret the recent inappropriate post towards one of our valued customers."
"The action of this former employee does not represent the views or culture of our company."
They continued:
"Lumberton Honda has been a part of the community for over 18 years, serving thousands of customers of all ethnicities. This incident reminds us that there is always room for improvement."
"Again, please accept our sincere apology. We are truly sorry."
Lumberton Honda/Facebook
Angry social media users were not satisfied with the apology.
They alerted the motor company to the incident and demanded further action from the dealership.
In an interview with WTVD, Bethune said of the offensive term:
"It's a stereotype, for someone to be like ghetto.. It's something people use toward Black people as a racial slur and as an offensive term."
"I feel like my character was played with."
The Fayetteville Observer noted the Lumberton dealership's ratings on Google dropped, with many reviewers leaving one-star reviews since Friday.