The Reverend Al Sharpton defended Jay-Z, after the rapper released a statement saying he wasn't going to back out of a deal with Barneys, where two customers said they'd been racially profiled.
Sharpton, who heads up the National Action Network, said he'd boycott Barneys if the luxury department story didn't present evidence that its employees had pursued white potential shoplifters just as much as black potential shoplifters. He's slated to meet with Barneys NY chief executive Mark Lee at the NAN offices in Harlem on Tuesday. President of the NAACP New York chapter Hazel Dukes also plans to attend, according to the Washington Post.
"Some people want to make this about Jay-Z," Sharpton said to reporters outside of NAN headquarters on Saturday. "No, this is about Barneys first."
Head of NAN's Brooklyn office Kirsten John Foy told the New York Post that accusations of the rapper supporting a racist store missed the point.
"I think it's a racist notion to assume that the only black person Barneys does business with is Jay-Z," Foy told the Post. "We're not there to focus on Jay-Z. Jay-Z did not write the corporate policy at Barneys. Jay-Z is just like every other businessman, he is there to make money and if he is the only black businessman that does business with Barneys - that is the problem."
In his statement, Jay maintained that his decision to keep his imminent line with Barneys was the right one.
"Making a decision prematurely to pull out of this project, wouldn't hurt Barneys or Shawn Carter, but all the people that stand a chance at higher education," he wrote. "I have been working with my team ever since the situation was brought to my attention to get to the bottom of these incidents, and at the same time, find a solution that doesn't harm all those that stand to benefit from this collaboration."
Trayon Christian bought a Salvatore Ferragamo belt from Barneys, but was stopped by police officers who asked him where and how he'd gotten the money to purchase such an expensive accessory. Soon after, Kayla Phillips came forward with a similar story - she'd been followed by law enforcement officials who demanded to know how she could afford the $2,500 Celine bag she'd saved up for months to buy at Barneys.
