My name is Stephanie Lennox.

I was unfairly dismissed from Capital One after my manager, Lauren Apfel, took a clear personal dislike to me—for reasons that were proven, by the company itself, to be racially motivated.

Despite being one of the top performers, I was pushed out of the company on false performance issues by this racist, who made up purposely stereotypical lies about me that were easily disputable with contradicting evidence. Capital One admitted fault in official grievance process documents, but still decided to deliberately mislead the UK employment tribunal in their defence, and tried to deny me legal UK rights (such as whistleblowing) and committed GDPR violations in order to shield her. The FCA have officially labelled this as a serious case, and are currently investigating - along with the ICO and the BEO.

Lauren Apfel's leadership role at Capital One and Velocity Black poses a threat to other black employees who may face similar unfair dismissals or discriminatory treatment. Allowing a proven racist to continue to oversee teams within these companies endangers not only the well-being and career progression of black professionals, but the experience of any person of colour who uses Velocity Black as a customer and has to be subjected to a racist who will provide them with, or could instruct others to provide them with a subpar experience.

The time is now to uphold principles of equality and fair treatment - so it is imperative that companies like Capital One and Velocity Black take decisive action.

Removing Lauren Apfel from her position would send a clear message that racial bias and discrimination have no place in professional environments.

It is my mission to ensure this doesn't ever happen to any other black person, especially those may not have the resources to be able to speak out about it in the same way I do. I'm aware that Lauren Apfel may not be removed from Velocity Black (which would be the fair outcome), however: I will not rest until it is known to at least 1,000 people that Lauren Apfel is a tried-and-true racist and therefore not fit to be a manager at Capital One.This will be her digital footprint and legacy.

We need your voices and signatures to hold these companies accountable and to ensure they provide a safe, fair, and inclusive workspace for all employees.

Signing this petition will help me advocate for justice and equality, and standing up against systemic racism.

Demanding the removal of Lauren Apfel to prevent further injustices and to shift the culture to fairness and respect in the workplace.

Please sign this petition to make a change. 

Thank you in advance!

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Note: I'm open to any and all journalist requests about this matter - and have pre-written articles about the situation that you are more than welcome to publish. The more the merrier! Let's spread the word. (firelaurenapfel at gmail.com)

For comment from the decision-makers, please contact:

• meredith.freeland@capitalone.com
• askhreurope@capitalone.com
• jordan.doidge@velocityblack.com