Another Walmart Has Been Accused of Locking Up Hair Products Marketed to Black Women

It has happened before in California and in several Virginia towns — and those are just the widely-reported cases. Multiple Walmart stores have been accused of putting hair-care products marketed to black shoppers in locked cabinets while other hair products are available to customers without requiring an employee's key. And now, word has gotten out that yet another Walmart location — this time in Long Island, New York — is doing the very same thing. And like the other instances, photographic proof has been shared on social media.

Nylon reports that on January 26, Patricia Fulford publicly posted a photo to Facebook showing products from brands like Carol's Daughter, SheaMoisture, and Cantu locked in a glass case. "I need to ask the manager at Riverhead Walmart why is it that the black hair products are the only ones under lock and key and now I have to wait for them to find the key smh," she captioned it.

According to local news outlet Riverhead Local, Fulford had to wait 10 minutes before a store associate arrived with a key, but it wasn't the wait that upset Fulford; it was the implication that black shoppers are more likely to steal.

Fulford says she asked a manager why these particular products, allegedly positioned under a sign reading "Multicultural Hair Products," weren't as accessible as other hair products, but he wouldn't give her an answer, suggesting she call 1-800-Walmart if she wanted to complain. "An employee at customer service told me that they were being locked up because people were stealing them," Fulford tells Allure. "She overheard me asking the manager, and when he didn’t answer, she interjected."

In addition to Fulford's post being shared numerous times, Riverhead Local reports that Fulford met with the town councilmember who co-chairs the anti-bias task force, and the president of the NAACP's Eastern Long Island branch said the organization would look into the complaint.

Fulford tells Allure her initial Facebook post has received mixed responses. "The reactions from African-Americans along with the local community of all races have been positive," she says. "I have gotten a lot of negative feedback from the white community that does not live in the Riverhead area for the most part."

Fulford knew she was doing the right thing by bringing attention to the matter, and she was thrilled to learn that, after a few days, the Riverhead Walmart stopped locking up the products in question. On February 1, she posted to Facebook again, sharing the change. "We did it‼️‼️‼️ the locks are off Riverhead and Middle Island they heard US loud and clear," she wrote. "Thank you everyone who supported my efforts so that everyone can have the same shopping experience at our local Wal-Marts. It was tiring at times but well worth it. Thank you for your encouraging text, calls and posts we did it‼️‼️‼️💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽"

Although Fulford tells Allure that she has not personally heard from anyone at Walmart, the brand gave Riverheard Local a statement on January 31: "We serve more than 140 million customers weekly, crossing all demographics, and are focused on meeting their needs while providing the best shopping experience at each store. We’re sensitive to this situation and also understand, like other retailers, that some products such as electronics, automotive, cosmetics, and other personal-care products are subject to additional security. Those determinations are made on a store-by-store basis using data supporting the need for the heightened measures."

Riverheard wasn't the first store to be called out on such questionable determinations. In 2016, three Walmart stores in Virginia were accused of adding extra security packaging on hair-care products marketed to black customers. And in 2018, a California woman sued Walmart for discrimination after finding these products locked in a glass cabinet.

Allure has reached out to Walmart for additional comment and will update this story when the request is returned.

More examples of why this discrimination has to stop:

• A White Referee Made a Black High School Wrestler Cut His Locs

• SCOTUS Won't Be Hearing the Case of a Woman Denied a Job Because of Her Locs

• This Banana Republic Employee Says Her Box Braids Were Called Too "Urban"

Now check out 100 years of black hair:

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