Who would have known that Macy’s department store would go from "how may I help you" to "how may I follow you". For years Macy’s have been discriminating against minorities who shop in their stores, now finally they have to pay the price. The department store recently settled the numerous complaints that were received for a sum of $650,000. That settlement came a week later after Barney’s, another major retail chain settled that their case for $525,000. For many years America has been known to treat minorities differently from the rest of society.
Minorities are perceived and labelled by society as criminals, thieves, and disorderly individuals. The racial stereotyping of minorities has been an abiding and lamentable element in American culture.
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Sometimes I want to go inside, but I do not because I know the reactions of the employees once I set inside.There has been times where I walked into a store and was not greeted at the door, but the next person which was white person was. It would be proper to greet someone as he or she enters the store. Not being asked “ do you need any help?” or greeted by at least employee makes me feel unwelcome in a store. Many times I am glanced by them, but apparently I’m not worth their time and effort because I am a minority. I am astounded by the fact that these workers stay silent as they see me in the store. These workers feel as that it is a waste of time to ask me because they think I cannot afford anything sold in there. When this happens, I simply walk back out or I decide to stay, but to just not spend my money in there since I am not welcomed. However, there are times when I need to buy something and the workers do a 360 and their attitudes completely change towards …show more content…
Racial profiling is known as unconstitutional and morally incorrect, but it still continues to occur in society. In 2013 actor Robert Brown has been targeted because of his race while shopping at Macy’s flagship store in Herald Square. Brown purchased a Movado watch that cost $1,300 then went on to purchase sunglasses for himself. While in the middle of the store shopping he was stopped and accused for credit card fraud. He was then detained inside the store for no reason. The NYPD cuffed him and told him he was going to jail for using a fake card. Due to the stereotypes of minorities it was unbelievable to the sales associate that he could afford such watch, so he or she called the police on him. He or she wrongly assumed he was involved in criminal activities. Another case took place in Barneys on Madison Avenue. Micheal Palillo, a black college student was detained by the police for purchasing a designer belt that costed him $350. He was stopped by undercover officers that were allegedly called by a sales clerk because she thought the transaction was fraudulent. Palillo was asked by the cops “how could he afford to purchase such belt?” He showed his receipt, but they told him he could not afford to make such an expensive
Early August I went back to school shopping with my mom. Senior year, I had to go back fly, right? It was such a great day outside and the new outlet mall was open. Taking advantage of the weather we decided to venture out into KKK Land: Chesterfield Valley. Walking around I couldn’t help but feel like a accidental chocolate chip in vanilla ice cream. After making a few purchases, my mom and I decided to stop Vera Bradley, because well her products are cute! Walking into that store, I promise everyone raised an eyebrow at us. The clerks never laid their eyes off us. I don’t necessarily think they thought we were going to steal anything, I think it was just bizarre to see women of a darker complexion than them to be voluntarily in store like that. I felt stares on the back of my neck. I felt so uncomfortable
In America’s judicial system, the color of skin or race are often equated with criminal behavior. Dr. King once said “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” As United States citizens, we are not convicted of a crime until proven guilty. However, racial profiling aids law enforcement on deciding when to pursue or detain a suspect based on race. This method undoubtedly categorizes that certain races are more prone to commit crimes. Nevertheless, racial profiling is a violation of constitutional rights thus protected by federal law; oddly it is often disregarded by states.
As I read this week case study it hit a too familiar cord that many people of color face when doing everyday life, such as walking down the street, shopping in a store or driving in a car. They are being racially profiled and being subjected to racial discrimination for no reason other than the color of their skin. In the “Bad Check Accusation” the Walmart store manager made the assumption that Mr. Pitts, a black man, making a purchase for a large amount with a check had to be committing fraud and therefore he unjustifiably scrutinized his purchase beyond a reasonable measure. Studies have shown that race as a highly visible feature has been the focal point of numerous profiling arguments. When a person skin color represents the likelihood
The NYPD’s stop-and-frisk practices raise serious concerns over racial profiling, illegal stops and privacy rights. The Department’s own reports on its stop and frisk activity confirm what many people in communities of color across the city have long known: The police are stopping hundreds of thousands of law abiding New Yorkers every year, and the vast majority are black and Latino. In 2011, New Yorkers were stopped by the police 685,724 times. 605,328 were totally innocent (88 percent). 350,743 were black (53 percent). 223,740
A great majority of people in the United States are defined as minorities, as people who are in the minority racially, compared to the majority which is defined as White. While being defined as a minority statistically is ok, being made to feel as a minority is a very troubling reality to a lot of people, as they are sometimes made to feel like second class citizens. Many people respond differently when made to feel like a minority, and have to question the value of their ethnicity, as they have to fight the general stereotyping by the masses.
Participating in the following for a multicultural shopping activity has opened my eyes to what an African-American woman goes through in her daily life. The list was short and I thought it would be a quick trip to the store. I became frustrated as I went to three different stores and still had an uncompleted shopping list. The only items I did find were the makeup, a fashion magazine, and a child’s toy. I was not able to find bandages, a romance novel, a children’s book or a birthday card.
Racial profiling has been one of the biggest problems in the 21st century, for people of all races to be treated differently and looked down upon like they are nothing, it goes against what America believes to be basic human respect. An article of USA TODAY tells a story about four black men who were put into jail for 70 days because they were racial profiled, “The defendants were arrested after a woman reported that she was robbed at gunpoint of her cellphone and purse. She and her boyfriend could only describe the perpetrators as black, ages sixteen to twenty, and wearing black hoodies” (USA TODAY). The officers confronted the first four black men that they found two blocks away from where the incident happened. The four men were arrested. One of them went to jail for 70 days. The other three men were only in jail for about five days. When they were released from jail, they sued the police department and received one and a half million dollars amongst the four of them. Even after the incident of they got the money, Dean one of the guys said, "We feel like we should be able to trust police, not have to protect ourselves from the” (USA TODAY). For most colored people they feel the same, believing that police brutality is a current issue that needs to be stopped, "They slandered me and made us look like animals” (USA TODAY).
Racial profiling is a controversial issue because although police use it to prevent crime, the opposing view claims that innocent people are stopped for no logical reason making them feel unequal. In fact, in the article “I was Racially Profiled in My Own Driveway” by Doug Glanville, is an example of why people oppose this, it shows how a police officer stopped and questioned a black man (himself) shoveling his own driveway even when it was out of his own jurisdiction. Little did the police know but the man was Doug Glanville, a retired MLB player, trying to clear out snow. However, not knowing who Glanville was, the police was under the impression that Glanville was out in the neighborhood trying to make money. Nonetheless, as soon as the police officer found out that Glanville was shoveling his own driveway of his household, he paces away. As Glanville clarifies, “After a few minutes, he headed back to his vehicle. He offered no apology, just an empty encouragement to enjoy my shoveling. And he was gone” (Glanville 8). What Glanville is really saying here is that a cop went out of his jurisdiction just to confront Glanville because he is black and was in a wealthy neighborhood. This ultimately ruined Glanville’s day by wiping off his smile since he had been racially profiled as a suspicious suspect to the police. This is a clear example on why people are against the use of
Since the birth of our nation, racial profiling has been an issue longstanding and troubling among minority groups and still continues to exhibit severe consequences in communities.
Racial profiling is an example of police brutality, which is defined by Gross and Livingston (2002) as “the practice of some officers of stopping motorists of certain racial or ethnic groups because the officer believe that these groups are more likely than others to commit certain types of crimes” (p.1413). Therefore, individuals are treated unfairly by law enforcement solely based on their race. This type of mistreatment is unmerited and ultimately a violation of an individual’s rights. However, in many instances the courts do not find it a violation of their civil rights based on the fact that racial profiling is difficult to prove. Often, prosecutors are disinclined in bringing forth a case against officers on this particular matter. Officers are permitted to stop and search individuals and their vehicles whenever there is reasonable suspicion, however, there has been studies that prove that some law enforcement officers restrict these rights primarily to minority groups. Bowling and Phillips found that although there was no formal monitoring of use of these powers, it was concluded that it was particularly heavy use of these powers against ethnic minorities, largely of young black people (as cited in Sharp & Atherton, 2007, p. 747) . In several cases, officers argue that they reasonably pulled an individual over for other probable grounds such as: traffic violations, suspicious behavior, etc., with race never being an
Racial profiling isn’t something new to today’s society. Most recently there were incidents in which the officers were accused of mistreating blacks such as Michael Brown and Freddie Gray. “Racism versus professionalism: claims and counter-claims about racial profiling” written by Vic Satzewich and William Shaffir discusses racism versus professionalism with officers. Their argument is more biased towards the police force and they argue that it’s part of their job. “
With the increase of population in the United States, more people will be going to stores and buying items they need. Dan White states that it’s acceptable for racial profiling to exist, for the businesses economic survival. From the actions of others in previous times, employees keep a cautious eye on customers from certain ethnic groups. This kind of security is often done when someone of color, black or hispanic, male and female, comes into a store. They’re often followed throughout the store and then asked to be searched. In order to protect those products, they must be cautious of people, making sure they don’t shoplift. Shoplifting represents a third of the 31.3 billion dollars that the retail industry loses every year. By having employees
An accurate definition of racial profiling must include discriminatory omissions on the part of the law enforcement as well as racially discriminatory acts. The failure of the enforcement to act on the behalf of a minority is unconstitutional but has been happening even farther back than the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s.The lynchings of African Americans that occurred during this time are a horrific example.Many “southern sheriffs sat idly by while racist organization, such as the Ku Klux Klan, terrorized African Americans. At times, the sheriffs would even release black suspects to the lynch mobs.” 1 A more recent example of this discriminatory omissions is seen with an African American man in Maryland. This man moved into a predominantly white community and faced harassment and property damage. The local police failed to respond to his complaints and eventually arrested him for shooting a gun into the air. His reason for
Benjamin Todd Jealous once said, “Racial profiling punishes innocent individuals for the past actions of those who look and sound like them. It misdirects crucial resources and undercuts the trust needed between law enforcement and the communities they serve.”(Jealous, 2015). I couldn’t agree more with him. In today’s society more and more Black men and women suffer from police bias. Police is a powerful organization that was meant to serve and protect. Enforce laws and keeping communities safe. The problem is we fail to acknowledge that police are humans with real life bias. The problem with police is how much racial profiling is going up,
The struggles, injustice, and difficulty that shop workers have to endure is unbelievable. Simply there to make the shoppers life easier within the store, it’s insane to believe that so many shoppers can be so absolutely rude, disrespectful, and from this chapter, quite racist and sexist. In my experience as a fellow shopper, the shoppers who have been the most disrespectful to the store workers have been elderly people and mothers whose children appear to be allowed to do what they want when they want. Elderly people tend to be disgruntled, crabby, and quite frankly rude, particularly when they are misunderstood or declined of the use of an outdated coupon, and mothers of out of control children also appear to be grouchy and lack enough care