S. Samuel
Rap mogul Jay Z may have a hefty decision to make as reports claim he is receiving pressure to join a petition against business partner Barneys over a recent streak of racial profiling accusations.
Buzz behind the overnight petition started to make its rounds online Thursday (October 24).
He’s got 99 problems and Barneys is a big one. Jay Z is getting slammed online for his association with the high-end department store rocked this week by two separate instances in which black shoppers say they were profiled and mistakenly accused of theft. The department store isn’t faring any better, with at least one online petition calling for a boycott. The enterprising user behind the change.org petition is also selling “Barneys New Slaves” T-shirts with proceeds going to the Boys and Girls Club of America. Even big names like Questlove, the drummer for The Roots, and Power 105 DJ Angela Yee are getting in on the criticism. “guess where i won’t be christmas shopping for mom this year,” Questlove wrote in a now-deleted tweet. (New York Daily News)
To help spark awareness, a line of anti-Barneys shirts have hit the ‘net.
Discrimination can no longer be tolerated. Hate and fear will no longer be tolerated. We must withdraw support from those who will not support us. All profits from this sale will be donated to The Boys and Girls Club of America. This is our response. As Kanye so elegantly put it.. “F**k you and your corporation.” (Adversitees)
The petition requests Young Hov to immediately put an end to his relationship with the high-end retailer.
As the accusations of racism against Barneys New York continues to pick up steam following the reveal of a second discrimination lawsuit, the call for action against the company is growing louder. A petition has surfaced on Change.org asking “Shawn Carter a.k.a. Jay-Z” to end all partnerships with Barneys New York. The petition’s creator, Derick Bowers, writes, “We can no longer tolerate blatant prejudice and discrimination. It is clear that the minority buying power is devalued by some. We must withdraw support to those who will not support us.” (Huffington Post)
Mr. Carter credited his love for the Big Apple for inspiring his exclusive Barneys collection a few weeks ago.
“With this project, Barneys New York and I were able to take the slickness, energy and innovation of New York City and translate that into quality, timeless pieces,” he explained to WWD. “Everything that encompasses A New York Holiday – the items chosen, the amazing designers that participated, the windows, the design of the BNY SCC Gallery – represents a perfect example of a unique and groundbreaking collaboration that I hope demonstrates how inspiring New York has been to me.” Fitting in with the festive theme the designs will be on sale from November 20 until January 3, and 25 per cent of the sales are to be donated to the rapper’s Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation. (Belfast Telegraph UK)
