Thread: Group protests MLK Day opening of TD Bank - Claims it is racist

Group protests MLK Day opening of TD Bank - Claims it is racist.4:43 PM, Jan. 16, 2012 |


Patrick Brown, executive director of the Greater Burlington Multicultural Resource Center, peeks into the windows of TD Bank in Burlington on Monday during a protest against the bank remaining open on Martin Luther King Day on Monday Jan. 16, 2012. / EMILY McMANAMY, Free Press

After a Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance at Burlington’s City Hall Contois Auditorium Monday, about a dozen demonstrators marched on the TD Bank branch just down the street to protest the bank’s opening on the holiday.
The marchers briefly gathered in front of the bank, then tried to enter. Moments after the group arrived, Patrick Brown, director of the Burlington Multicultural Resource Center, said he would hand leaflets to bank tellers protesting the bank’s hours Monday. The leaflet read: “Dear TD Bank, you are defying the King holiday. Shame, Shame, Shame. This is a racist act. Shame, Shame, Shame.
However, two male bank employees stopped the demonstrators as they tried to enter the bank. The employees refused to take the leaflet from Brown, then locked the doors. A few minutes after that, another TD Bank employee said if people had legitimate bank business, they could enter, but otherwise, demonstrators had to stay outside.
A few demonstrators got inside and briefly held signs and chanted slogans, but then left at Brown’s behest. The demonstration then continued on the sidewalk in front of the bank.
Brown had said last week he was considering leading a demonstration against the bank.
Bank officials said last week that the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is important, but the bank has traditional stayed open on the holiday to serve its customers’ needs.
Burlington Free Press