THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 29, 1996 TAG: 9605290416
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: 52 lines
The Virginia Conference of the NAACP has urged shoppers to wage a ``selective buying campaign'' in response to what it views as racial discrimination at Circuit City Stores Inc.
The Richmond-based consumer electronics chain is the target of two discrimination lawsuits - one filed in Greenbelt, Md., involving stores in Baltimore, Washington and California, and the second aimed at promotion and transfer practices at its corporate headquarters.
``We have clearly stated it is company policy to base all personnel decisions on ability and performance,'' Circuit City spokeswoman Ann Collier said Tuesday. ``We are contesting the allegations contained in the lawsuits in court.''
Salim Khalfani, supervisor of branch operations for the state NAACP, said at a news conference Monday that people should ``take a strong look at where and how they spend their money.'' The organization is not using the word ``boycott'' because of legal issues, he said.
Khalfani said the appeal was aimed at ``the African-American community and all justice-seeking people.''
Collier said that while the company ``is concerned about the perception customers have,'' she would not speculate on the NAACP campaign's effect on sales.
Khalfani said Richard L. Sharp, president of Circuit City, has refused to discuss with the NAACP a ``perception problem'' the company has with blacks. He said Sharp has cited pending litigation in rejecting such discussions.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People plans to follow up with demonstrations and a letter-writing campaign, Khalfani said.
The complaint filed in November charged that a small group of top executives controlled promotions, but pretrial testimony has shown such decisions are made autonomously by each of 126 departments at corporate headquarters, plaintiffs' attorney Phillip D. Bostwick of Washington said at a hearing last month.
That does not help Circuit City, Bostwick argued, because the result is ``an excessive subjectivity'' by lower-level managers that allows them ``to promote and transfer people like themselves.'' Such subjectivity is made easier by the absence of job descriptions and written guidelines for promotions and transfers, he said.
Moreover, those managers are influenced by ``the comments of senior people reflecting racial animus,'' even if top executives are not directly involved in such decisions, Bostwick said.
About 800 blacks are among the 3,500 employees at Circuit City's corporate headquarters. Eleven of the top 362 positions are held by blacks.
KEYWORDS: RACIAL DISCRIMINATION by CNB