Good NewsApple apologizes after allegations of racism for not letting black students in store
Apple has apologized to a group of six students who were denied entry to an Apple Store in Melbourne, Australia on Tuesday.
The students — all of whom were black — posted a video of the incident to Facebook and Twitter, and that video has since incited global cries of unfair treatment and racism.
The video shows an Apple employee addressing the boys, all Grade 10 high school students dressed in their school uniforms.
“These guys are just a bit worried about your presence in our store,” the staff member tells them. “They’re just a bit worried you might steal something.”
When the boys ask why, the staff member cuts them off, telling them, “Guys, end of discussion, I need to ask you to leave our store.”
The story quickly went viral, sparking a social media backlash against the employee’s action. Many commenters were angry, if not exactly shocked.
Maharahara Ruahine @SirWB tweets:
“Australia is a deeply racist country no surprise that the Apple Store employees would say something like this.”
Samfromsouth @MsLippyLondoner writes:
“Why was I not surprised that the racist incident in the Apple Store took place in Australia? Look at how they have treated the aborigines!”
Ed Cross @edcrossfineart tweets:
“Shame on Apple for the racist incident in Australia they need to issue profound apology”
Apple responded quickly with the following statement from Apple CEO Tim Cook, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
“We want every person who joins our team, every customer visiting our stores or calling for support to feel welcome. We believe in equality for everyone, regardless of race, age, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation. That applies throughout our company, around the world with no exceptions.”
Another separate statement was also provided by Apple:
“Inclusion and diversity are among Apple’s core values. We believe in equality for everyone, regardless of race, age, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. That applies throughout our company, around the world with no exceptions. We’ve looked into the details of the situation and we apologize to the customers involved. We will continue to do everything in our power to ensure all our customers are treated the way they should be.”
The boys, for their part, have expressed profound disbelief at the way they were treated.
“Once the incident happened I was in shock, I was in disbelief,” student Abdulahi Haji Ali told SBS News. "I didn’t believe the employee said that, I thought I was day dreaming.”
After receiving the official apology, one of the teens involved, Mohamed Semra, posted the following on Facebook:
“Apple have in fact apologized publicly. This is an incident that I’ll never forget. My friends and I are in disbelief. Racial profiling has to stop due to being a big problem in society and other people most of time are not as lucky as we were and get it on video.”
