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Three black brothers, ages 17, 14 and 11 were escorted from Crabtree Valley Mall on February 28th, a day when the temps were only in the 30s. Their parents, LaVonda and Craig Bowden believe the boys and a friend were racially profiled, according to the News & Observer.
Bobby Medlin, the general manager of Crabtree Valley Mall said in a statement: We have concluded that the young men involved should NOT have been asked by our officers to leave the mall. From our review, it appears that the young men were seated in the food court for about ten minutes. That was not long enough to be a violation of the mall’s policy regarding loitering.
Lynn Moore, a woman who was in her car and saw the boys escorted from the mall, attempted to comfort them, according to an article from the News & Observer. She says a security officer asked her to pull away.
Medlin offered to meet with the Bowdens to apologize. But Calla Wright, the head of the Coalition of Concerned Citizens for African-American Children in Raleigh said that Medlin would not meet with a larger group that includes both families and other members from the community.
LaVonda Bowden says she doesn’t want an apology according to the News & Observer. She stated:
They questioned my kids like they had committed a crime, put them out in the cold and never called to inform me with the contact information they took from my kids, who are minors.
The family is considering legal action, according to the News & Observer.
One of the three Bowden brother, Jordan, says he witnessed four other girls being escorted from the mall that day. All were African-American. According to the article, Jordan, a Leesville High School Student, said white kids were also sitting down in the mall but were not asked to leave.
Source: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/community/midtown-raleigh-news/article16369388.html#/tabPane=tabs-b0710947-1-1
