Barnes & Noble manager called cops on Black Coastal Carolina employee, lawsuit says
A Black former employee of Coastal Carolina University is suing Barnes & Noble, stating that the manager of the campus store accused him of stealing in a racist verbal attack that escalated to her calling the police.
Joshua Gagum, a former quality assurance specialist at Coastal Carolina University, states in the lawsuit that a manager of the Barnes & Noble located on campus accused him of stealing and called the police on him while he was doing his job.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in Horry County court against a subsidiary of the book-selling giant that operates bookstores on college campuses.
Gagum, 28, alleges in the lawsuit that he was just doing his job on Jan. 22, 2019, which involved conducting inspections of every room in every building on Coastal Carolina University’s campus.
The lawsuit was filed against Barnes & Noble College Booksellers — a subsidiary of Barnes & Noble that is one of the largest operators of college bookstores in the country — and the bookstore’s manager, who is not named in the lawsuit and is only identified as Jane Doe.
Gagum states in the lawsuit that he entered the HTC Building on Coastal Carolina’s campus to inspect a room in the university bookstore, the Chanticleer Store, which is operated by Barnes & Noble College Booksellers.
Despite wearing a Coastal Carolina University uniform and presenting his employment credentials, the bookstore manager began “verbally attacking” Gagum, the lawsuit states. Doe “refused to acknowledge” Gagum’s credentials. She went on to insinuate that Gagum was planning to steal from the “cash room.” At one point during the confrontation, Doe called the police on Gagum.
She told Gagum she did not “want his kind in there,” the lawsuit states.
He states in the lawsuit that Doe “strictly called the police because (Gagum) is an African-American male.”
The lawsuit states that as a result of the bookstore manager’s “abusive” behavior, Gagum suffered “severe and ongoing emotional distress, medical expenses” and other “emotional harm warranting mental health treatment.”
The lawsuit states that Barnes & Noble employees knew or should have known that Gagum was an employee of the university.
Amelia Mulinder, head of public relations for Barnes & Noble, Inc. did not return a phone call requesting comment.
Gagum states that the manager’s behavior interfered with his employment “for purposes of furthering” her “racist interests.” The incident left Gagum with no choice but to resign out of concerns for his own safety after the incident damaged his relationship to his superiors.
Coastal Carolina University spokesperson Martha Hunn did not return a phone call requesting comment.
Gagum asks the jury for an unspecified amount of money to make up for lost wages, medical expenses and emotional distress.
Bryn Sarvis is the attorney representing Gagum. Sarvis, with Sarvis Law, LLC is based out of Gilbert, S.C.
Sarvis did not return a phone call requesting comment.
This story was originally published July 24, 2021 at 6:58 AM.
