(USA Today) The Rev. Al Sharpton threatened to boycott high-end Barneys New York on Saturday amid racial profiling allegations brought forth by black shoppers in New York City.
“We’ve gone from stop and frisk to shop and frisk, and we are not going to take it,” Sharpton said during a weekly rally at his National Action Network’s headquarters in Harlem. “We are not going to live in a town where our money is considered suspect and everyone else’s money is respected.”
Joining Sharpton at the rally, Kirsten John Foy with National Action Network said the civil rights activist would be meeting with Barneys officials Tuesday to discuss the allegations. Sharpton called for a boycott of the store if the luxury retailer’s response is inadequate.
[…] On Wednesday, 21-year-old nursing student Kayla Phillips alleged four plainclothes officers accused her of credit card fraud in February after she bought a $2,500 bag from Barneys, according to the Daily News.
Phillips told the news organization that she’d been wanting the orange suede bag for awhile and when she received her tax return, she decided to treat herself.
Philips said she purchased the bag but was approached by police three blocks away at a subway station.
“There were three men and a woman,” she told the Daily News. “Two of them attacked me and pushed me against a wall, and the other two appeared in front of me, blocking the turnstile.”
They hit her with questions and demanded identification, she said. She has filed a $5 million notice of claim with the city indicating she intends to sue the NYPD. (read more)