Four women, outraged by what they saw as racial profiling at a local mall, wore supposedly banned hooded sweatshirts to show that justice was not blind, or at least no colorblind, on this occasion.
The four women, well-dressed and white, wore their hoodies to Wolfchase Galleria in Cordova, Tennessee, after seeing an online video of black men being ejected from the mall, ostensibly for wearing hoodies.
The four ladies—Shannon Arthur, Sherry Ennis, Rebecca Erickson-Geller, and Rye Ellen—later posted about their adventure on Facebook.
We four white women walked more than a mile through the Wolfchase Galleria wearing our hoodies and our privilege, just…
تم النشر بواسطة Shannon Arthur في السبت، ١٠ نوفمبر ٢٠١٨
The ladies were responding to a viral video posted by former journalist Kevin McKenzie.
In that video, a mall security officer, two Shelby County Sheriff’s deputies, and a Memphis police officer can be seen hustling four black men out of the mall. The four left the mall, then returned. When they did, one of the men was arrested for criminal trespass.
Former journalist Kevin McKenzie, 59, who filmed the incident, was also detained. His wife posted his written account and videos on her Facebook page.
The men were evicted for violating the mall’s code of conduct, specifically a clause saying that shoppers must wear appropriate clothing.
Exactly what might or might not be appropriate is not specified.
In the video, the security guards can be heard telling the men that they were being forced out of the mall because they were wearing hoodies, WSB reported.
Acceptable Banned Apparel
The ladies were so upset by what they saw in the video, they decided to take action—by shopping.
The four friends entered the mall while wearing their hoodies, with the hoods down. The stayed in the mall for quite a while, walking more than a mile through the rows of shops.
One of the hoodie-wearing women, Sherry Ennis, told WSB, “It just struck a chord on us that we could do that. We could walk through there, we could take pictures, we could wear whatever we wanted.”
A week ago, they were detained and banned at Wolfchase Galleria over the mall’s unwritten no hoodie policy. Today, Kevin…
تم النشر بواسطة Wendi C. Thomas في السبت، ١٠ نوفمبر ٢٠١٨
At times they pulled their hoods up. When they did, mall security asked them to take the hoods down.
“We pulled them up on occasion and we were approached very politely and asked to remove them—that it was obscuring our identities, so we took them down,” Ennis said.
Shannon Arthur, one of the four women, posted on Facebook, “We saw people wearing baseball caps. Those caps cover faces more than hoods do. We didn’t witness anyone being asked to remove a cap.”
At no time were the four ladies asked to remove the hoodies—no one even hinted that the ladies might not be welcome in the mall while wearing the supposedly banned apparel.
“There’s even apparel sold in there that a certain segment of society is not allowed to wear,” Ennis said.
The Same Justice for All
The Facebook photo of the four hoodie-clad ladies went viral.
The photo reached a wide audience—rapper Yo Gotti saw at and responded on his Facebook page, “These women helped bring light to the double standard we face in our community and across America.”
The ladies made it clear that they were not protesting, were not trying to cause problems, and were not in any way opposed to law enforcement, or law and order. Their sole interest was justice and fairness.
“We’re not against law enforcement, no rules at all, but if they’re enforced equally, I’m up for that,” Sherry Ennis told WSB. “And we made a total point that it’s not enforced equally.”
Shannon Arthur posted on Facebook, “I respect law enforcement. And mall cops. But there’s no question that some members of our community are constantly harassed and traumatized where those with less melanin are given a pass.”
“We must do better,” she said.
