Raymond James employee fired after confronting Black Lives Matter supporter writing message in chalk
A video of the employee went viral on Twitter
Financial firm Raymond James said Monday that employee Rob Larkins was terminated after he and a woman were captured on video questioning a man painting the Black Lives Matter slogan on what he says is his own property.
"After an investigation into the circumstances of a video alleging racism by one of our associates, we have concluded that the actions of he and his partner were inconsistent with our values, and the associate is no longer employed with Raymond James," the company said in a statement.
Raymond James has "zero tolerance for racism or discrimination of any kind," the company said.
Larkins issued an apology over the weekend, ABC 7 reported.
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"Over the last two days, I have had my eyes opened wide to my own ignorance of racial inequity, and I have thought a lot about my own personal blind spots." Larkins said. "I was wrong to question Mr. Juanillo, and I was wrong to call the neighborhood police watch. It was wrong, and I am profoundly sorry for treating him with disrespect."
In this Saturday, June 13, 2020, photo, "Black Lives Matter" is stenciled on a retaining wall of and shown in a window of a house the Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. (Chase DiFeliciantonio/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
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Larkins led Raymond James' California's public finance efforts after working at Lehman Brothers and Morgan Stanley, according to the company website.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RJF | RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIAL INC. | 163.78 | +1.60 | +0.99% |
During the encounter in San Francisco that led to his firing, Larkins filmed while a woman he was walking with, Lisa Alexander, confronted a man stenciling "Black Lives Matter" on private property. The man has been identified as James Juanillo by ABC 7.
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"A white couple call the police on me, a person of color, for stencilling a #BLM chalk message on my own front retaining wall," Juanillo wrote on Twitter on Friday. "'Karen' lies and says she knows that I don’t live in my own house, because she knows the person who lives here. #blacklivesmatter."
Alexander is the CEO of LAFACE Skin Care. Beauty subscription service Birchbox said it was cutting ties with Alexander's company on Saturday.
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"We condemn the actions of Lisa Alexander," Birchbox said in a statement. "We have not worked with LAFACE for several years [and] as a result of the CEO’s actions today have officially cut ties with them. We've removed their products from our website [and] will not be working with them in the future. #blacklivesmatter."
Alexander issued an apology on Sunday, according to ABC7.
"There are not enough words to describe how truly sorry I am for being disrespectful to [Mr. Juanillo] last Tuesday when I made the decision to question him about what he was doing in front of his home," she said in a statement according to ABC7. "I should have minded my own business."
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"I am taking a hard look at the meaning behind white privilege and am committed to growing from this experience," Alexander continued according to ABC7. "I would love to have coffee with Mr. Juanillo in our neighborhood so I can apologize in person and share a dialogue where I can continue to learn and grow and be a better person."