A diversity, equity, and inclusion executive at JPMorgan Chase has been dismissed after she was filmed dumping garbage from a public trash can onto a Manhattan street and walking off with the receptacle during the New York Knicks championship parade.
As reported by The Post Millennial, the woman has been identified as 40-year-old Angie Bez, who served as Executive Director of Community and Industry Engagement for Card and Connected Commerce at JPMorgan Chase for more than a year. She had previously held the role of Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at The Infatuation, a New York-based lifestyle website that JPMorgan acquired as it expanded its media and content footprint.
According to the New York Post, JPMorgan reviewed the viral footage after it spread across social media and moved swiftly to terminate her employment. A company spokesperson confirmed the decision in a brief statement, saying, This employee is no longer with the company.
Bez had attended the Knicks parade in a personal capacity, but her conduct quickly became a national spectacle after millions watched her casually empty the contents of a Knicks-branded trash can onto the street before hoisting it up as a trophy. She was later photographed on a bus with the stolen trash can in tow, at one point flashing a hand-sign toward the person taking her picture.
The episode has drawn renewed scrutiny of the corporate DEI industry, whose advocates often preach equity and community while too frequently displaying contempt for basic civic norms. Baez is also the founder of a queer and black Indigenous and People of Color-owned talent agency called Same page Co. per the Post, which describes itself as focused on increasing representation and equity in media and industry. It works with artists/talent on creative projects, photoshoots, strategy, and business affairs.
Despite the brazen nature of the act, the NYPD stated on June 20 that no formal complaints had been filed in connection with the theft of the public trash can. The New York City Department of Sanitation, however, did not mince words, declaring, Dumping trash onto the street and stealing public property for your own personal use are both illegal, antisocial behaviors, and not what New Yorkers do. On top of all that, doing both on camera is incredibly stupid, a blunt assessment that underscores how far elite rhetoric about inclusion can be from everyday standards of responsibility and respect for public space.
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