<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=windows-1252"><base href="x-msg://172/"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><br><div style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Futura; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><span style="margin: 1em 0px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; "><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="right"><tbody><tr><td id="boxholder" style="font-size: 10pt; "><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 10px; width: 240px; border-width: 1px; border-style: solid; "><tbody><tr><td align="center" bgcolor="#eeeeee" style="font-size: 10pt; padding: 16px; "><span style="margin: 1em 0px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; "><strong>Shopping while Black is not a crime.</strong></span><p style="margin: 1em 0pt; "><a href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3054?t=1&akid=3175.1237097.ZBTxlW" target="blank"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.colorofchange.org/images/barneysnyakimage.jpg" alt="Barneys NY" border="0"></a></p><p style="margin: 1em 0pt; "><strong><span style="margin: 1em 0px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; ">Join us in demanding that the NYPD immediately conduct a full investigation into the arrests made outside of Barneys.</span></strong></p><p style="margin: 1em 0pt; "><a href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3054?t=2&akid=3175.1237097.ZBTxlW" target="blank"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.colorofchange.org/images/btn_take_action.png" alt="Join Us" border="0"></a></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="margin: 1em 0px; ">Dear Mark,</p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; "><strong>For months, Trayon Christian — a 19-year-old Black college student from Queens — set aside money from a part-time job to buy a $349 designer belt from Barneys New York.</strong><sup>1</sup><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>But in April, as he exited the luxury department store with both the belt and his receipt he was swarmed by undercover cops, peppered with questions, handcuffed and locked in a jail cell.<sup>2</sup><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>While providing several forms of identification to match his debit card, police taunted Trayon with questions like "How could you afford a belt like this?" "Where did you get this money from?"<sup>3</sup></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; ">Barneys issued a vague statement, disclaiming responsibility for Trayon's arrest, but<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong>more than 47 arrests have been made outside of the Madison Ave. store</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>— hinting at the possibility of a dedicated NYPD task force.<sup>4</sup><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong>The public has a right to know the racial breakdown of the suspects arrested, how many were actually charged with a crime, and what role the luxury department store played in these arrests.</strong></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; "><a href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3054?t=3&akid=3175.1237097.ZBTxlW" target="blank"><strong>Join us in demanding that the NYPD immediately conduct a full investigation of the arrests made outside of Barneys.</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>We'll also send this message to senior executives at Barneys to remind them that the practice of profiling Black customers is unacceptable. It only takes a moment.</a></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; ">Clearly Trayon isn't the only Black person who has been stopped by NYPD after an expensive purchase at this particular store.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong>Just a day after Trayon filed his complaint, 21-year-old Kayla Phillips has come forward and claims that she too was surrounded by undercover cops just blocks from the Manhattan store who pushed her up against the wall after she purchased a designer handbag with her debit card.</strong><sup>5</sup></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; ">Unfortunately Black folks are too often subjected to this brand of deeply offensive and humiliating treatment by security guards and police officers at the businesses we patronize. And in recent years,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong>the NYPD has become notorious for targeting Black and Latino residents</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>— subjecting our communities to thousands of illegal stops, searches, and frisks each day that lead to unlawful arrests, constant harassment, and in some cases, serious injury or death.<sup>6,7</sup></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; "><a href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3054?t=4&akid=3175.1237097.ZBTxlW" target="blank">Enough is enough.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong>In order to end the culture of police misconduct and racial profiling we must demand accountability for these discriminatory practices. Will you sign this petition today and forward it to your family and friends?</strong></a></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; ">Thanks and Peace,</p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; ">--Rashad, Arisha, Matt, Aimée, William, Hannah and the rest of the ColorOfChange team.<br> October 25th, 2013</p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; "><a href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2812?t=5&akid=3175.1237097.ZBTxlW" target="blank"><strong>Help support our work.</strong></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://ColorOfChange.org">ColorOfChange.org</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don't share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way.</p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; ">References</p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; ">1. "Barneys accused teen of using fake debit card for $349 belt because he's a ‘young black American male':lawsuit," New York Daily News, 10-22-13<br><a href=" http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3044?t=6&akid=3175.1237097.ZBTxlW" target="blank">http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3044?t=7&akid=3175.1237097.ZBTxlW</a></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; ">2. "Trayon Christian Complaint," New York City Clerk, 10-21-13<br><a href=" http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3045?t=8&akid=3175.1237097.ZBTxlW" target="blank">http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3045?t=9&akid=3175.1237097.ZBTxlW</a></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; ">3.See Reference 1</p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; ">4. "Another black Barneys shopper accused of credit card fraud after buying $2,500 purse: claim," New York Daily News, 08-10-13<br><a href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3046?t=10&akid=3175.1237097.ZBTxlW" target="blank"></a><a href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3046?t=11&akid=3175.1237097.ZBTxlW">http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3046?t=12&akid=3175.1237097.ZBTxlW</a></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; ">5.See Reference 4</p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; ">6. "Judge approves class action lawsuit over NYPD’s stop-and-frisk searches," The Raw Story, 05-16-12<br><a href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1636?t=13&akid=3175.1237097.ZBTxlW" target="blank">http://act.colorofchange.org/go/1636?t=14&akid=3175.1237097.ZBTxlW</a></p><p style="margin: 1em 0px; ">7. "After Detective's Firing, Tensions Linger in Sean Bell Case," New York Times, 03-25-12<br><a href="http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3047?t=15&akid=3175.1237097.ZBTxlW" target="blank">http://act.colorofchange.org/go/3047?t=16&akid=3175.1237097.ZBTxlW</a></p><img src="http://act.colorofchange.org/o.gif?akid=3175.1237097.ZBTxlW"></span><p style="margin: 1em 0em; font-size: small; "><br><a href="http://act.colorofchange.org/cms/unsubscribe/unsubscribe/?akid=3175.1237097.ZBTxlW">You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.</a></p></div></div><br></body></html>