Page 25 - Florida Sentinel 6-8-18

National
Black People Beware When You Shop At Target: Another Black Customer Profiled
SOUTHFIELD, MI — The Minneapolis-based chain, Target, allegedly fired an employee at a Michigan store on Monday, two weeks after a Black customer was falsely accused of stealing a bikini and then forced to re- move her clothing to prove her innocence, according to her attorney.
The development was the latest in a string of discrimi- natory practices that have dogged the retailer.
Ashanae Davis, 20, was exiting the Southfield, Michigan, store on May 22 when a Target security guard confronted her and claimed that she was wearing a stolen bikini bottom underneath her clothes, Davis’ attorney, Jasmine Rand, said Mon- day.
A second guard then handcuffed her and dragged her through the store, yelling that she had stolen the bikini, Rand said.
The officers took her to a room. Once inside, a female manager was called in, and Davis was instructed to lift up her shirt and pull down her pants in front of the manager and the two male officers.
Davis said she felt “hu- miliated and forced” by the Target employees.
Davis and Rand held a press conference on Monday
morning in Detroit in which they detailed the incident, adding that Target had not responded to their calls.
Hours later, Target an- nounced that it had fired one worker.
The manager is white, as is one of the security guards, Davis’ attorney said. The other guard, who is Black, hinted after Davis was al- lowed to leave that what had happened to her was not un- usual.
“The African-American employee apologized to her and said, ‘This happens all the time,’ and he was afraid he would lose his job” if he didn’t participate, Rand said. “The other two did not apologize at all.”
The incident comes sev- eral months after a Black man said he was racially pro- filed at a Target in Waconia, Minnesota.
Target has also faced questions of discrimination
Ashanae Davis, center with her attorneys, Jasmine Rand and Maurice Davis.
in its hiring practices: In April, the retailer agreed to a $3.7 million settlement in a lawsuit alleging that the company’s criminal back- ground check process was biased against Black and Latino applicants.
Rand, a civil rights attor- ney said she and co-attorney Maurice Davis were gath- ering evidence and consider- ing whether to pursue criminal charges.
She said they were look- ing to sue for discrimination based on race and gender and false arrest, she said.
FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 13-A