A black PepsiCo employee has accused the food and beverage giant of perpetuating a culture of systemic racism in the workplace by only embracing African American staff that 'fit in the right box' and 'look a certain way.'
Sales representative Lindell Forsythe, 40, penned a blistering resignation letter to company CEO Ramon Laguarta last week, citing discrimination as the reason behind his decision to leave his post at PepsiCo's South Carolina facility after 14 years.
In the four-page memo, Forsythe - who won multiple corporate awards for his sales achievements at the company over the years - claimed he was nonetheless ever quite able to climb the ranks because he was a '6ft 4in, 270lb, African American with dreadlocks and tattoos.'
The longtime employee has also accused the multinational corporation - with brands including Pepsi, Gatorade, Doritos and Cheetos - of taking his idea for a successful Mountain Dew campaign and giving him no recognition for it.
He further alleges that a PepsiCo executive shot down his suggestion for a Pepsi campaign with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) because it would potentially 'isolate' 'Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs).'
Lindell Forsythe, 40, of Summerville, South Carolina, spoke to DailyMail.com about his decision to resign from PepsiCo this week after 14 years. He is pictured with his daughter Maliyah
The ex-employee, who won multiple corporate awards at company over the years - claimed he was ultimately never able to climb up the ranks despite his talent and achievements because he was a '6ft 4in, 270lb, African American with dreadlocks and tattoos'
Speaking to DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview after his departure, Forsythe said he believes his career path at PepsiCo was stalled simply because his looks do not conform to the type of 'clean cut' black person the corporation wants to employ, regardless of his talent.
'PepsiCo claims to be embracing black people but in reality for that person to succeed they have to be the exact image of what the company wants a black person to be and look like,' he said.
'I definitely believe they didn't treat me right as a black man, but not just as a black man, but because of what I look like as a black man. I didn't fit their box.'
He continued: 'They regularly send out emails about people who have been promoted, many of them black. But none of these black men look like me. They all have this very clean cut image.
'And if you are black you have to fit that certain box, while we have other people, Caucasians, who have been promoted but don't have to do that.
'I'm not saying they didn't work hard, because I don't know their stories. But I know mine and I definitely feel like the color of my skin and the way that I look was the thing that drove it.'
After the George Floyd murder in 2020, company boss Laguarta, 58, announced the launch of a more than $400million 'set of initiatives over five years to lift up Black communities and increase Black representation at PepsiCo.'
Laguarta, who was appointed CEO in 2018 and has been with PepsiCo for 26 years, added on the company website: 'My parents raised me to believe that all people are equal, that diversity is a reflection of our common humanity. This is both true in companies and the larger society.'
However, Forsythe suggested the company has failed to make good on their pledge after saying he initially believed PepsiCo was a place he could build a career and eventually retire from.
He continues: 'I noticed there was even diversity in senior leadership… we had a black president on the beverage side.'
But, Forsythe adds: 'From my experience, the talk of diversity has its limits.
'Our black colleagues must all fit into a box. We can't be opinionated for risk of being negatively labeled. We can't have a certain appearance. Having locks (dreadlocks) or any ethno-centric expression can get you categorized and marginalized.
'Lastly, it must be known that you are here to do whatever the company asks without any questions asked. We as a group of people (black employees) easily justify this act because we have always been taught to survive.
'We protect our livelihoods at all costs, even if it means accepting some things that we know are not right. If we ignore all that we see and completely conform, we get to stay on top.'
The father of four joined Pepsi as a driver in 2008 eventually working his way up to a top sales representative in 2015, working out of the company's facility in Jedburg, South Carolina.
He was inducted into PepsiCo's Chairman's Circle of Champions - a global honor - in 2014, and was regularly awarded top regional sales awards after becoming a rep for taking low-earning patches and turning them into top money-earners.
But it was his ambition to create more for the company that led him to put forward a patriotic marketing plan for popular PepsiCo soft drink Mountain Dew in 2013, while still a driver.
The sales rep penned a scathing resignation letter to company CEO Ramon Laguarta Tuesday, citing discrimination as the reason behind his departure
Forsythe, who lives in Summerville, South Carolina with wife Tara, emailed Pepsi's then-Vice President of Sales Rich Panner on April 29 that year thanking him for putting an awards program in place – then adding his pitch.
In the email exchange obtained by DailyMail.com, he wrote: 'One more thing, I now see that we are selling Pepsi and Dew in the same package. I had an idea of putting code red, voltage, and whiteout in one package and calling it RED WHITE AND DEW. Maybe for a Fourth of July or election promotion.'
Panner replied with an hour, writing: 'PS I love your idea on Red, White and Dew…… outstanding. I will ask team to follow up with a picture of Dew variety package we are looking at. Similar concept.
'Also please note that we will have Red, White and Blue Pepsi
