An Apple store in Melbourne, Australia is being accused of racially profiling a group of black students of African descent.
The teenage boys, Abdulahi, Gereng, Ose (Ésë), Mabior, Mohamed, and Petrieaged said they were approached by Apple store employees in Maribyrnong, Melbourne where they were asked to leave out of fear that they might ‘steal something’.
So being black in a store means you’re looking to steal?? You can’t just be there to maybe PURCHASE something? Or window shop?
The teenage boys who are students of Maribyrnong College moved to Australia as children from Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, Eritrea and Egypt. They were denied entry to the store by a staff member and two security guards.
Video footage of the incident was captured by one of the students, Francis Ose (Ésë) and has been viewed over 70,000 times.
https://www.facebook.com/eseose.oseghale/videos/759395487523343/
In the footage the Apple store employee can be heard saying “These guys are just a bit worried about your presence in the store. They are just worried you might steal something”.
To which one of the boys replies “Why would we steal something?”.
“Guys, end of discussion” the employee cuts off.
Many people are understandably outraged.
Australia's logic: darker pigmentation correlates with stealing @Crypticgirl_
Clearly the #BlackLivesMatter movement needs to spread to other parts of the western world.
The boys have received a lot of press in Australia due to this incident.
Speaking to 9NEWS in Australia, one of the boys, Abdulahi Haji Ali said,
“Because we were a group of black males – teenagers – and teenagers do a lot of stupid stuff but you still can’t give black people that stereotype”.
Apple has since apologised and said everyone is welcome in its stores.
And ironically, one of Apple’s CEO Tim Cook’s beliefs on diversity and inclusion, was quoted by the Apple spokesperson:
“We want every person who joins our team, every customer visiting our stores or calling for support to feel welcome. We believe in equality for everyone, regardless of race, age, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. That applies throughout our company, around the world with no exceptions”.
