Kofi Inkoom
A former Burger King manager in Mississippi, Shakayla Dixon, believes nepotism led to her firing, as well as the termination of her son and his three friends, from the fast-food restaurant.
The teenagers viewed their jobs as a refuge from the violence prevalent in their area. “We could have really been out doing that, but we went out and worked,” said 15-year-old Corderrion Valentine.
Corderrion is upset about losing his job, along with his mother and friends, at the Burger King in Clinton. Dixon, who managed the location, thought hiring the teens would be a good way for them to earn extra money over the summer.
Excited about the new hires, Dixon shared a photo of the group working on social media. “The post started getting numbers. It got to like over 1,000 likes that night,” she said.
The photo even caught the eye of actor Nick Cannon, who shared it on his Instagram, garnering over 90,000 likes and hundreds of shares.
However, things took a turn when Dixon received a call from her district leader. “She said we don’t want to turn something good into something bad, but we have some concerns. The concerns were that Corderrion is my son and how much money they were getting paid,” Dixon said.
Management informed Dixon that minors should be paid differently than adults, a policy she claims was never mentioned before. “It was never brought to my attention beforehand. It came down to policy, but I feel like policy wasn’t in play in the beginning,” she added.
Corderrion is heartbroken over losing his summer job. He has always wanted to be a positive role model and show his generation that hard work and productivity are worthwhile. “I hope that it inspired a lot of people to do good things and stop the violence,” he said.
To support her son and his friends with upcoming school expenses, Dixon has started a GoFundMe. Burger King representatives have not yet commented on the situation.