If you go online and visit the Circle K website, one of the first things you will see are five bold words in white that say
"Welcome to the Circle K" — but when 89-year-old Evelyn Redic visited one of the convenience stores at a Shell gas station in North Carolina, last week, she felt anything but welcome. Redic was riding home from church when the van they were in suddenly got a flat outside a Shell/Circle K. As she waited for the tire to be fixed, she realized she had to use the bathroom.
When she asked the store if she could use the bathroom they refused and she was forced to relieve herself on a nearby patch of grass. The experience would have been humiliating and hurtful for anyone, but for a woman who grew up during the height of Jim Crow, where blacks were regularly denied entry into white establishments, it must have brought back terrible memories.
Circle K has released a statement apologizing for the incident but excusing their employees saying the small kiosk station didn't have a restroom accessible to the public.
But that is not enough, the convenience store should make sure that something like this never happens again. Please tell Circle K their apology is only the beginning. Sign the petition and ask both Circle K and Shell to commit to making all their convenience store restrooms available to their public.
Photo credit: Facebook