Etta Mae Done Walked Thru the Front Do'!

So today as my sister and I were on the Plaza shopping we went into Express. Ya know it was just a regular day on the town for me and my sister. But quickly it turned into the sequel to Rosewood! As I was shopping, I looked and saw two security guards. Ok, that's not strange. Then there were three, then four, then five! Excuse me! As we left we began to discuss the events. Coincidence? So as we left the store to go to Urban Outfitters we looked back and saw one of the officers behind us. Oh no, he can't be following us. Hit a corner, cross the street, OMG he is following us. Not only did he follow us to Urban Outfitters but he followed us inside and downstairs. When I walked out of the dressing room he was accompanied by another officer. WOW! At this point I was completely and utterly enraged. That's when we began to let them know that we knew what was going on. We got on the phone to express the disgust that we tasted from this experience that was not yet over. I made sure to make much eye contact with them to let them know that we were definitely aware of them following us. As we went to the register to PAY for our things there were three officers! Outside one awaited. As we left I told them to, "Have a great day officers! Would you all like to help us carry our bags out?!" To keep this story short, we were followed to the GAP, customer service, and all the way to the Security Office to file a complaint.

Needless to say we were both upset. I don't even know if upset contains all the emotions we felt. This was clearly race motivated. We didn't have big shopping bags or big coats or anything suspicious. Just two females shopping. I guess we stood out because our skin had a little bit of tint to it! I mean how far have we come? Up until this point I had never been racially profiled before, at least not to this extent. This was beyond necessary and was definitely unwarranted. I will not let this rest! How can I? It would be a disservice to the entire Black community if I lay down and let people think that this is the 1940's and "Etta Mae don' came thru the front do' of Mr. Wilcox store, knowin' that gal gotsa go thru the back entrance!"