An Apple Store in Australia has come under fire this week thanks to video footage of a store manager kicking six black school boys out of a store because security was worried they might steal something.
Footage of the incident at the Melbourne store hit the Internet on Tuesday, causing a an outcry on social media that the store was being racist to the boys, who are all black and in Year 10 at Maribyrnong College in Melbourne.
“These guys are just a bit worried about your presence in our store,” an Apple staff member can be seen telling the teenagers in the video. “They’re just a bit worried you might steal something.”
You can catch a clip of the exchange below:
Khalid Breezy, Petros Smalls, Deebo Ater Abdulahi Haji Ali Mohamed, Andy Gambino Nelson Mahad MohamudSimply Racism, made them apologise tho
Posted by Francis Ose on Tuesday, November 10, 2015
After getting kicked out of the store, the six students went back the next day with their principal and demanded the apology they deserved. A senior manager from the store met with the teens and apologized and told them they’re welcome back anytime.
Apple has since released a statement apologizing to the boys and their principal, saying diversity is part of the iPhone-maker’s core values:
“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.”
One of the boys involved, Mohamed Semra, later posted on Facebook that they’re satisfied with Apple’s response.
“They apologized, so we’re chilling, no need to take it further,” Semra wrote.
