Around 9:00 p.m., the teens returned to our table to only share a humiliating stories about shopping while black as one of the female teens coin the incident. Needless, to say at that moment I realized my daughter was racially profiled. I asked my daughter was she harmed or harassed? She explained to me she felt humiliated and angry because she has be going to the mall with her friends who are white for the last four years and has never been approached by mall security.
My daughter went on to tell me that the same mall cop (a black man) followed them around mall and warned them twice “not to stop and wait outside the store for a friend and that she had to go into the store no matter if she wanted something or not from that store. The mall cop went on to say the mall had a no loitering policy and waiting for a friend while they were shopping was not aloud. FYI the code of conduct does not say anything about loitering.
For the record Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary defines loiterer as to remain in an area for no obvious reason. The reason my daughter was waiting outside of the store with the one other friend, she explained to me that the mall stores were extremely warm and standing outside the store was a little cooler.
The third and finale incident occurred at the Streets of South Point movies. The same mall cop approached my daughter and her friends and said that they could not stand in front of a store and that they had to move. The other parent herd the commotion and approached the officer and explain to the officer we as a family were waiting for the movie to start. The office said it doesn’t matter you have to move and we asked the children to sit at the table with us until the movie started. I said after the treatment of my child by the mall cop I was not going to pay another dime to have my child harassed and humiliated and I should have to pay for bad behavior of the mall cops. I felt I could get that kind of treatment for free! Needless to say no one wanted to go to the movies after the third incident of harassment.
After the third strike I called the Mall manager Patrick Anderson on 9/8/09 @ 919 572-8808 mailing address: 6910 Fayetteville Road, Durham, NC 27713 email: patrick.anderson@ggp.com. and Mr. Patrick Anderson returned my call on 9/10/09 and we final spoke on 9/17/09
I also spoke with Mall head of Security Greg Dixon@ 919 527-8800 email: vss1666dir@valorsecurity.com of Valor security on 9/16/09. Mr. Dixon was not much help when speaking and he read from a prepared script about mall security. Please take advantage of this information I have listed should you have a problem with the streets of south point shopping at your own risk while at the streets of south point. Nevertheless, the
conversation with Pat Anderson was a different story. Mr. Anderson stuck to the script and reassured me that there was no problem with racial profiling. I asked Pat Anderson would he be willing me to meet with me and my daughter or send her a letter apologizing for the incident. Mr. Pat Anderson declined the opportunity for a meeting and would not send a letter of apology to my daughter.
Pat Anderson went on to explained the code of conduct by which the mall stands by for your information I have included a copy of the code of conduct.
According to Ms. Stephanie Brager Group Director, General Growth Properties a three or more people is consider a group and most not be allowed to walk together or will have to
keep moving in order to not be harassed at the mall. I asked Ms. Brager how does mall address the issue a family of five two parents and three kids? She had no answer for me. Which leads me to believe bullet number four has to be removed from the code of conduct when a family of five is consider a threat to the mall.
After a very unproductive telephone conversation with condescending Pat Anderson, I called the owners of the mall General Growth Properties, Inc. (GGP) @312 960-5000 and was told to address my concerns to David Powers over see malls. When David Powers returned my call I was given to Liz Prince-Staff Assistant @ 312 960-5732 Liz Prince gave me the name of Pat Anderson supervisor Stephanie Brager Group Director, General Growth Properties.
Ms. Brager has been most help in addressing my concerns and trying to make a mend. She even asked Pat Anderson to write my daughter an apology letter… Needless to say the letter is a reflection Pat Anderson condescending nature. I have posted a copy of the letter for your enjoyment.
The letter leave me speechless! Needless to say I have asked Ms. Brager to schedule a meeting with mall the Manager, Mall security my daughter and me.
Needless to say this problem is epidemic and the fact I was with my child did seem to matter. Thus, as a shopper at a mall you are truly shopping at your own risk. Please click on the link below for additional feedback concerning shopping while black at your local mall.
Black and shopping in America
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/23/btsc.obrien/index.html
What would you do? Shopping while black.
http://abcnews.go.com/whatwouldyoudo/story?id=7131333&page=1
I will keep you posted as the story unfolds.
