Racial Profiling and Social Justice in the Marketplace

When a security guard at Bloomingdale's stopped a male shopper and wrongfully accused the African American male of shoplifting, the shopper turned out to be a judge. Oops.

Each year, retailers across the U.S. lose more than $40 billion to what they call shrinkage. This problem has put some stores out of business. According to a CNBC story, employees and dishonest management account for nearly half the losses while professional boosters and organized crime are responsible for a large percentage of the other losses.

Stores across the country target men, women, and children of color, automatically viewing them as potential shoplifters. According to an ABC News report, trained and untrained security personnel are guilty of the practice.

This business practice is widespread even though people of color do not fit the typical profile of shoplifters across the country.

Whether you are Queen Latifah, president of an Ivy League university, Oprah, the Secretary of State, or a high school or college student, if you are a person of color, you have likely experienced some form of consumer racial profiling. Various forms of the practice exist, from confrontations to non-verbal cues, a subtle form of Stop Thief!

Common sense, critical thinking, courtesy, even compassion are often missing in many encounters.