After Barneys received a flood of negative press for stories about being racially profiled while shopping for designer items, they’ve released an apology on their Facebook page. The luxury store is being sued by 19-year-old, Trayon Christian after he purchased a $350 Salvatore Ferragamo belt and was approached by the store’s security and was asked, “How could you afford a belt like this? Where did you get this money from?” The cops demanded to see his ID and his form of payment, harassing him as if a young Black man couldn’t afford to shop in the high class store. Barneys wants Trayon and the rest of the urban community to know, “We are a strong proponent of equal rights and equal treatment for all human beings. Our mission is to ensure that all customers receive the highest-quality service—without exception.” Is that why they’ve been hit with lawsuits this week centered around racial discrimination?
How does Barneys plan on rectifying this situation beyond this apology? They’re going to review their practices and procedures under the watchful eye of of Civil Rights expert, Michael Yaki. And then, they’re going to begin a dialogue with community leaders. This sounds like a plan that’s got nothing but potential. *side eye*
So Barneys’ CEO is just now realizing that Black folks come into his store to spend their last dime on his overpriced merchandise, but because his staff doesn’t know how to react to that once-in-a-lifetime sight, he’s got to hire a Black people expert to revise their policies. This makes us wonder what the heck do their current policies say?!
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Trayon’s incident isn’t the only of its type within Barneys. 21-year-old Kayla Phillips suffered a similar fate earlier this year and has decided to come out and attempt to sue the store as well.
Kayla went to Barneys in February to purchase a Celine bag she’d been eyeing and made it all the way to the train to head home when she was approached by the cops, who demanded to know the same things Trayon was asked.
Barneys released a statement earlier this week, but this is their first attempt at an apology. We don’t think this is good enough, in fact, it’s made things worse! Barneys now looks insensitive and way out of touch. Someone needs to pass them Olivia Pope’s number.
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Barneys Offers Their ‘Deepest Apologies’ By Hiring A Civil Rights Expert was originally published on hellobeautiful.com
