On Wednesday, a group of protestors had gathered at Barneys New York Inc. storefront in Manhattan. The demonstrators expressed outrage over complaints made by black customers.
Reverend Clinton Miller, a Brooklyn pastor, organized the protest which coincided with an investigation done by the state attorney general. Investigations probed into security practices in Barneys New York Inc. and Macy's Inc.
In separate incidents, four black customers were said to be detained but were then released without charges. This incident sparked controversy of racism in a city where equality and prejudice is constantly a subject of debate.
Senior pastor at the Nazarene Congregational United Church of Christ, Conrad Tillard had stated, "We are here today to say that Barneys is wrong because there is no one in the city of New York who is qualified to analyze a person's dress or manner to determine how much money they have and how capable they are to purchase something."
Reverend Evelyn Manns of Brooklyn Christian Center, added, "The disrespect that racial profiling does to us as a people will not be tolerated."
Officials from Barneys and Macy's claimed police had acted without instruction from store staff. On Tuesday, Mark Lee, Barneys Chief Executive Officer, claimed his employees were not involved in the said incidents.
Mark Lee stated, "No one from Barneys brought them to the attention of our internal security and no one from Barneys reached out to external authorities."
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