‘Shopping while black’: Racial profiling caught on tape, Rashid Polo viral Vine video - Tomonews

Rashid Polo, of Rochester, Minnesota, is an overnight internet celebrity whose recent Vine videos are shedding light on a sensitive topic … shopping while black. While shopping at a convenience store back in February, Polo noticed a pattern developing. No matter where he went in the store, a suspicious attendant always seemed to follow. As she busied herself with random tasks, she cast vilifying stares at Polo, who eventually had enough. He whipped out his cell phone and began recording. If you’re saying to yourself right now that racial shopping discrimination doesn’t exist, chances are, you’re a white person. Barney’s New York, to give just one example, has repeatedly been accused of mistreating black shoppers. In the case of 19-year-old Trayon Christian, undercover police officers arrested him when he walked out of Barneys with a $350 belt, despite having shown them proof of purchase. Even Oprah can’t avoid racial profiling. Last year, a Swiss clerk refused to show the media mogul a handbag, saying it would “cost to much.” Polo’s second “shopping while black” Vine video has garnered 14 million loops in a little over a week and attracted more than 15,000 followers so far.