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Shopping while black
"Shopping while black" is a phrase used for the type of marketplace discrimination that is also called "consumer racial profiling", "consumer racism" or "racial profiling in a retail setting", as it applies to black people. Shopping while black is the experience of being denied service or given poor service because one is black.
"Shopping while black" involves a black person being followed around or closely monitored by a clerk or guard who suspects they may steal, but it can also involve being denied store access, being refused service, use of ethnic slurs, being searched, being asked for extra forms of identification, having purchases limited, being required to have a higher credit limit than other customers, being charged a higher price, or being asked more rigorous questions on applications. It could also mean a request for any item the store actually carries being denied with the store attendant claiming that the item does not exist or is not in stock. This can be the result of store policy, or individual employee prejudice. Consumer racial profiling occurs in many retail environments including grocery stores, clothing shops, department stores and office supply shops, and companies accused of consumer racial profiling have included Eddie Bauer, Office Max, Walmart, Sears, Dillard's, Macy's and Home Depot.
Shopping while black is sometimes also called "shopping while black or brown", but researchers say black people are the most frequently targeted.
Shopping while black has been extensively covered by American news media, including a hidden camera ABC News special in which actors posing as store staff harassed black customers to see how other shoppers would respond, and a Soledad O'Brien segment called "Shopping While Black", part of a CNN special on being black in America. It is usually assumed to occur mainly in the United States, but has also been reported in the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
"Shopping while black" is related to driving while black; both phrases refer to racial profiling and mistreatment that may occur due to the subject being black. The concept stems from a history of institutional racism in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries, and relates to racial profiling.
In 1995, a young black man shopping at an Eddie Bauer store in suburban Washington, D.C., was accused of having stolen the shirt he was wearing, and was told he would need to leave it behind before leaving the store. He filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging "consumer racism", and was awarded $1 million in damages. In 2000, a black man named Billy J. Mitchell was awarded $450,000 in compensatory and punitive damages from Dillard's, after being arrested despite having done nothing wrong. Also in 2000, a black woman unsuccessfully sued Citibank after she was detained for no good reason while making large purchases with her Citibank Visa card.
In 2002, researchers who conducted in-depth interviews with 75 black people living in black neighborhoods in New York City and Philadelphia found that 35% reported receiving consistently negative treatment when shopping in white neighborhoods, compared with 9% who said they received consistently negative treatment in their own neighborhood.
In his 2003 paper "Racial Profiling by Store Clerks and Security Personnel in Retail Establishments: An Exploration of 'Shopping While Black'", criminologist Shaun L. Gabbidon wrote that the majority of false arrest complaints filed in a retail setting in the United States are filed by African-Americans.
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Shopping while black AI simulator
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Shopping while black
"Shopping while black" is a phrase used for the type of marketplace discrimination that is also called "consumer racial profiling", "consumer racism" or "racial profiling in a retail setting", as it applies to black people. Shopping while black is the experience of being denied service or given poor service because one is black.
"Shopping while black" involves a black person being followed around or closely monitored by a clerk or guard who suspects they may steal, but it can also involve being denied store access, being refused service, use of ethnic slurs, being searched, being asked for extra forms of identification, having purchases limited, being required to have a higher credit limit than other customers, being charged a higher price, or being asked more rigorous questions on applications. It could also mean a request for any item the store actually carries being denied with the store attendant claiming that the item does not exist or is not in stock. This can be the result of store policy, or individual employee prejudice. Consumer racial profiling occurs in many retail environments including grocery stores, clothing shops, department stores and office supply shops, and companies accused of consumer racial profiling have included Eddie Bauer, Office Max, Walmart, Sears, Dillard's, Macy's and Home Depot.
Shopping while black is sometimes also called "shopping while black or brown", but researchers say black people are the most frequently targeted.
Shopping while black has been extensively covered by American news media, including a hidden camera ABC News special in which actors posing as store staff harassed black customers to see how other shoppers would respond, and a Soledad O'Brien segment called "Shopping While Black", part of a CNN special on being black in America. It is usually assumed to occur mainly in the United States, but has also been reported in the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
"Shopping while black" is related to driving while black; both phrases refer to racial profiling and mistreatment that may occur due to the subject being black. The concept stems from a history of institutional racism in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries, and relates to racial profiling.
In 1995, a young black man shopping at an Eddie Bauer store in suburban Washington, D.C., was accused of having stolen the shirt he was wearing, and was told he would need to leave it behind before leaving the store. He filed a federal civil rights lawsuit alleging "consumer racism", and was awarded $1 million in damages. In 2000, a black man named Billy J. Mitchell was awarded $450,000 in compensatory and punitive damages from Dillard's, after being arrested despite having done nothing wrong. Also in 2000, a black woman unsuccessfully sued Citibank after she was detained for no good reason while making large purchases with her Citibank Visa card.
In 2002, researchers who conducted in-depth interviews with 75 black people living in black neighborhoods in New York City and Philadelphia found that 35% reported receiving consistently negative treatment when shopping in white neighborhoods, compared with 9% who said they received consistently negative treatment in their own neighborhood.
In his 2003 paper "Racial Profiling by Store Clerks and Security Personnel in Retail Establishments: An Exploration of 'Shopping While Black'", criminologist Shaun L. Gabbidon wrote that the majority of false arrest complaints filed in a retail setting in the United States are filed by African-Americans.