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Saturday, March 31, 2007

Gang Clothing Ban

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posted by Bob at Saturday, March 31, 2007

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Blogger Bob said...

'Gang clothing' ban: Deterrent or discrimination?
Some shoppers say the rule is leading security guards at Maplewood Mall to unfairly target minority youths.
By Chris Serres and Kara McGuire, Star Tribune
Last update: March 30, 2007 – 9:30 PM

Maplewood Mall has come under criticism from some shoppers who contend that the mall is using its ban against "gang-related clothing" to discourage visits from minority youths.
About six black men and women have complained over the past week of being stopped or followed by security guards; one said she was wrongly accused of shoplifting. All the shoppers were young adults who said they were targeted partly because of their clothing, according to a continuing investigation by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), a national nonprofit group that advocates on behalf of low-income families.

Representatives of the 130-store mall declined to comment on the complaints. A spokeswoman for Simon Property Group, which owns the mall, said the company is not aware of any incidents of racial discrimination there.

"Maplewood Mall has zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind," the company said in a statement.

Simon bans gang-related clothing in all 170 of its enclosed malls in the United States. In Minnesota, Simon owns the Albertville Premium Outlets in Albertville and the Miller Hill Mall in Duluth, as well as Maplewood Mall.

Maplewood is the only Twin Cities mall that bans gang-related clothing in its official code of conduct for shoppers, ACORN said. Because the prohibition doesn't define gang-related clothing, the group and some shoppers argue that it allows mall security guards to target black youths who like to wear hip-hop clothing.

Critics also contend that the mall isn't being consistent. A few of its stores sell much of the hip-hop clothing that might be considered gang-related. Among them is d.e.m.o., a clothing chain that sells hip-hop fashion worn by popular rap artists.

Buy, but don't wear?

"They sell these clothes to these kids and then say they can't wear them there," said Terry Turner, an administrative assistant from St. Louis Park who said she won't shop at the Maplewood Mall because of its dress policy. "It's contradictory."

Shawn Coleman, 19, a student from Minneapolis, said he and his niece and nephew were followed by a security guard for nearly an hour in October while they browsed through the mall. All of them are black. Coleman said he asked the guard, who was white, why they were being followed and was told it was because his niece and nephew, ages 10 and 9, were picking up store merchandise.

Coleman said that the accusation was false and that he believes they were stopped because of their clothing. On that day, he wore a Denver Nuggets sports jersey and loose jeans that hung slightly below his waist, exposing the top of his boxers. Coleman said his nephew was wearing gold chains.

'It's discrimination'

"Had we been white people wearing suits and ties, I guarantee he wouldn't have followed us," he said. "It's discrimination, and I'm not going back" to the mall.

Enrique Trigo-Hernandez said he was asked by a security guard at the mall to remove his blue Timberwolves hat, which he was wearing sideways.

"I'm not in a church, or a place where you have to show a sign of respect by removing your hat," said Trigo-Hernandez of St. Paul.

"What is gangster-type clothes?" he asked. "I think it's just an individual sense of style. I know I sag [in the pants] a little bit, and wear my hats to the side, that doesn't mean I'm in a gang."

ACORN launched a national campaign this week calling attention to allegations of discrimination at Simon malls, after receiving more than 50 complaints from shoppers at the Town Center at Aurora in Aurora, Colo. That mall also bans gang-related clothing. The American Civil Liberties Union also is investigating the complaints.

Other Twin Cities malls regulate attire, but without citing gang-related clothing. The Mall of America does not allow shoppers to wear hoods, and occasionally security guards will ask shoppers to lower them. Occasionally, guards will ask someone wearing an inflammatory T-shirt to cover it, spokesman Dan Jasper said.

"If you look at the ethnicity of security guards they are, by and large, white," said Ben Hanna, head organizer for ACORN in Colorado. "They really don't understand what kids wear and what hip-hop culture is all about. They don't understand that, just because someone wears baggy pants and a hat backward, that doesn't mean they're in a gang."

A Simon spokeswoman said the company's ban does not address fashion trends, but is directed at specific colors and symbols based on information provided by law enforcement agencies. Maplewood Police Chief David Thomalla said he is not aware of any gang problems at the mall.

"We're not seeing graffiti, or anything that we can attribute to gangs," he said. "There are shoplifters that we arrest up there, but that's not attributed to gangs."


Staff writer Joy Powell contributed to this report. Chris Serres • 612-673-4308 • cserres@startribune.com Kara McGuire • 612-673-7293 • kmcguire@startribune.com

9:52 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Had the ever so charming Mr. Coleman been wearing a suit and tie like he says the white poeple were wearing, he wouldn't have been singled out , so what's the problem? You wanna look like a gang banger, you get treated like one.

6:47 PM  

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