I'm a Black male, and I've actually never been followed around a store in my young adult years.

Out of curiosity where are you from? I am sure there are black males who are never followed around the store. But it is a common occurrence I wonder why black males get such a stigma when other races are just as likely to steal.

Then again the reoccurring theme in the US is black = poor

Actually no

Tbh I dont really dress "urban" or some would classify as "black" so idk if that plays a role

You could be wearing a suit and still get followed, I don't dress urban by any means and still have gotten followed or asked a question while others in the store go ignored.

I'm only speaking from experience , I've never been followed before .

Eh, not really -- well to my knowledge. I usually have in headphones if I'm not with my gf or friends, so if I am being followed I wouldn't really notice. In the rare event that I'm not listening to music while shopping for clothes, etc I haven't been followed; I have, though, been asked if I needed help but the cashier asked that from a distance.

Just to specify, I am an African-American male.

Originally? I was born and raised in California. I've lived in Atlanta, DC, and Philadelphia, and not once have I ever been followed around a store. When I'd be out with my friends, we'd go to stores like Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, Ralph, etc and we've never been followed. But I think it's because we dressed appropriately, and didn't look like we had just rolled out of bed.

Blacks get a bad rep in stores because Black ppl steal. I've worked in retail as a side job since my college days, and at all the places I worked, Black ppl were usually the ones caught stealing. But tbh, when I talk to our LP, they tell us it's not race, it's behaviors that customers exhibit that let them know they're in the store to steal.

Maybe it depends on where you live cause in VA I used to work at 711 and it was mostly whites who stole. You really moved around what place you liked more?

Where I worked in DC it was a good mix of races who got caught stealing. But where I worked sophomore year in DC, it was usually Blacks who got caught stealing.

As for where I've lived, CA > DC > Atlanta/Philly.

Let me revive this thread.

Have I been followed at a retail store? No, never that.

Have I been stared at by the old white woman behind the counter as I was casually searching for a bag of sour patch kids? Yes.

I was with my cousins and we were all looking for something. One of my cousins got what he wanted and waited by the door, while the rest of us were still searching. When we all finished, my cousin (the one who had finished before all of us) said the lady told him that she thought we were going to steal from her. The nerve.

Why would I be followed? Nope

If I have been, I'm not aware of it. I buy clothes online but when I go for groceries I consciously make sure I carry a basket so, I don't look suspicious. Once @ sainsburies I took myself to the self check out area, which is just asking for trouble as a black teen. I live in a very urban area of london, so people are mostly tolerant and are never to rude to me. They'd just say "do you need help with that", which means something completely different, but at least they try to be discrete about it.

But this 1 bitch, was kinda rude and aggressive. I was having trouble with scanning most of the bakery, but being the decent person I am, I will never just throw in something I never paid for. I'll save it for later and try again . Usually the machine will glitch/freeze if like one grape is out of place. So the alert comes up and as you do, the employee came over to dismiss the alert, so I can continue scanning. She asked me if I was able to scan the bread buns, I said yes (I was certain!). She does her thing and I press purchase. This ho cancelled it with swiftness . And she is going back to the scan log, to double check I guess and she's like "look, you didn't scan the buns"! before she even read it. Seriously. She just assumed, without any proof or anything. Implying that I stole something. Tried to make excuses after too