It's high time that black Americans steer clear of any store that racially profiles, especially Barneys and Macy's, the Rev. Al Sharpton argues at the Huffington Post.
As the recently reported incidents of profiling, interrogation and detainment of customers at Barneys and Macy's have showcased, large entities from the private sector not only blatantly discriminate against us, they also establish a practice of criminalizing entire groups of people. But it even goes a step further: they insult us over and over again by systematically failing to do business with us. Companies are quick to take our dollars, but slow or non-existent to invest in our business ventures, in our ideas and in our communities. It's time for a drastic change, and as the old adage goes, money talks.
Two years ago, Nielsen and the National Newspaper Publishers Association released areport on the state of the African American consumer. Among the findings, that study indicated that by 2015, the Black buying power is projected to reach $1.1 trillion. That's a lot of dollars. Where and how we spend those dollars will depend on who learns to recognize and value that power. From this day forth, we can no longer continue to fund companies that dehumanize us and refuse to alter their practices all around. From the lawyers to the sub-contractors, corporations must diversify who they hire and who they include in their business dealings. From the shopping floor to the boardroom, racial profiling and racial exclusion must end. And we will hold all those accountable that fail to rectify their ways.
Read Al Sharpton's entire piece at the Huffington Post.
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