Apple Store - Highpoint Shopping Centre, Melbourne
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services. It is considered one of the Big Five companies in the U.S. information technology industry, along with Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook.[1][2]
An Apple Store in Melbourne became a highlight after a racial profiling happened in the store to six school boys who's black. The encounter took place in at the Highpoint Shopping Centre in Melbourne, Australia, and the six boys were from nearby Maribyrnong College. After security eyed them approaching the store, an Apple representative curtly told the boys to leave immediately because "they're worried the boys might steal something." A video of the exchange filmed on a smartphone was posted to Facebook on Tuesday, whereupon it went viral.
Racial Profiling
Footage of the incident at Melbourne's Highpoint shopping center emerged on November 10, 2015 sparking a social media outcry. As the video uploaded in BBC The students told Australian media they were checking out the new iPhone 6S at the Apple Store at Highpoint shopping center in Melbourne on Tuesday when they were asked to leave.[3] Black school boys were asked to leave the store because "they might steal something". In the video that gone viral, one of the accused student replied "Why would we steal something?". When the boys protest, the staff member tells them: "End of discussion - I need to ask you to leave our store."
The video of the incident later uploaded to social media and caused an uproar, with many users accusing Apple of racism.
The student who filmed the video, Francis Ose, said on Facebook: "Simply racism".[4] One of the boys, Mohamed Semra, said he would “never forget” the incident. He posted to his Facebook profile that the incident could have “happened to any other African kid.”[5] “Racial profiling has to stop due to (it) being a big problem in society and other people most of time are not as lucky as we were and get it on video,” he said on Facebook.[6] "I've been coming to [this mall] for a long time and I never thought something like this would happen ... of course I was offended," Mabior Ater, one of the students, told Fairfax Media.[3]
Apology
An Apple Store senior manager later apologized to the boys, who are all black, and their school principal. In a statement the firm said: "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."[4]
After the store senior manager apologize, CEO Tim Cook also responded to this controversial incident and says that's not enough. Tim Cook responded in a company-wide email, Cook said the incident "does not represent our values" and it is "not a message we would ever want to deliver to a customer or hear ourselves". "While I firmly believe that this was an isolated incident rather than a symptom of a broader problem in our stores, we will use this moment as an opportunity to learn and grow," he wrote. "Our store leadership teams around the world, starting in Australia, will be refreshing their training on inclusion and customer engagement."[7]
The case were dropped because Apple quickly apologized and the students satisfied with the response.
See Also
Referenced
- ↑ Rivas, Teresa. Ranking The Big Four Tech Stocks: Google Is No. 1, Apple Comes In Last. Barrons. 22 August 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
- ↑ Ritholtz, Barry. The Big Four of Technology. Bloomberg. 31 October 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Riley, Charles. Apple accused of racial profiling in Australia. BBC. 12 November 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Apple apologises after allegations of racism by Australia schoolboys. BBC. 12 November 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
- ↑ Fox, Emily Jane. APPLE APOLOGIZES AFTER TEENS KICKED OUT OF STORE ALLEGE RACISM. Vanity Fair. 12 November 2015. Retrived January 21, 2021.
- ↑ Clinch, Matt. Apple apologizes after Australia racism row. CNBC. 13 November 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
- ↑ Statt, Nick. Tim Cook tells Apple employees there’s no room for intolerance after black teens blocked from store. The Verge. 13 November 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2021.