Racial slur incident triggers sensitivity training at Sheraton Hotel in Philly

Following the Japanese American Citizens League national convention in Philadelphia last weekend, the organization reported the use of a racial slur against one of its attendees at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel. The report may cause the Sheraton Hotel to refresh its employee racial sensitivity training.

The slur appeared to be written at the top of a folio for one of the attendees, and it was written as part of an abbreviation for the convention by one of the hotel’s employees, according to JACL’s facebook post. It appears that the employee did not know the meaning of the slur, and was instead using the word as a shorthand, according to AsAm News.

“We are continuing to investigate this matter and deeply regret that one of our guests experienced this issue,” wrote a spokesperson for the Sheraton Hotel in the comments section of the Facebook post. “Based on the results of our investigation we will take the appropriate actions, including refreshing our sensitivity/diversity/inclusion training, to ensure this doesn’t happen again,” the comment continued.

The JACL is partnering with Philadelphia’s Convention and Visitors Bureau to build a training session for hotel employees that will delve into the history of racism for the Japanese-American community, according to AsAm News.