Your reply seems to assume that Patricia Covington and Shelia Ellington are black. Why is that? I didn’t see any photos of them in the story.
In said area, those are not white names, especially the last one. A more typical name for a white woman in western Gloucester would be Meghan Callaghan or Anne Marie Covella.
Wal-Mart probes racial comment at Gloucester County store
"Two black South Jersey women are boycotting Wal-Mart as authorities investigate a public announcement targeting black shoppers at the Turnersville store over the weekend . . ."
It's called a "safe assumption".
You know, history and surnames get tangled up, sometimes. And, sometimes, race, history and surnames get tangled up, too. I know I was shocked when I realized that Austan Goolsbee, in the Obama administration, was white. I’ve never met a white one; I thought they had all died out or something. Plenty of black ones, though.
Along those lines, the English surnames “Covington” and “Ellington” are somewhat unusual in the northeast. Both of them are common here in NC, and both were plantation owning families. So, an assumption that these two women are black is a logical one.
The spelling of “Shelia” instead of “Sheila” is another clue. That’s just the way it’s spelled for black women, for whatever reason.
So, perhaps you have a point in questioning the assumption, but I strongly suspect you don’t.