Aurora | A dozen protesters gathered in front of city hall yesterday to call on city council to hold public hearings to deal with allegations of racial profiling and discrimination at the Town Center at Aurora.
"I'm really upset about how my community and my people are being treated," said Jamal Miller, a black Aurora resident and a member of Colorado Progressive Coalition, one of the groups that organized the demonstration. "I think (mall owners) need to have better training for the volunteers of the mall, the security guards of the mall. And no racial profiling. Racial profiling needs to stop."
Mall officials denied any wrongdoing.
"Town Center at Aurora has zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind," officials said in a statement released by Simon, Property Group, which owns the mall. "Our highest priority is to create a safe, pleasant, and enjoyable shopping environment for all our patrons regardless of age, race, or religion."
The statement also said many of the complaints are the result of violating the mall's code of conduct and a curfew on Fridays and Saturdays, that requires anyone younger than 17 years old to be accompanied by their parent or guardian at the shopping center after 5 p.m.
Miller and other protesters said security guards required them to show identification to enter the mall while letting young, white shoppers pass by unbothered.
Another protestor, Ashleah Howard, said she worked at the mall for more than a year and routinely saw minority kids kicked out without reason.
The shopping center recently underwent a $100-million renovation, with $15 million coming from city tax breaks, prompting one protester to hold signs reading "No tax money 4 racist companies."
Councilman Larry Beer said there is time at every city council meeting set aside for the public to speak.
"I would personally invite anyone from the community that thinks the council should hear about anything happening at the mall to come tell us about it," Beer said.
The mall, located at Interstate 225 and Alameda Avenue, recently came under fire when a civil rights group released a report criticizing the mall for discrimination and compiling a list of complaints from people who felt discriminated against.
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, who released the report earlier this month, joined CPA to hold the demonstration.
ACORN began surveying black and Hispanic shoppers in July and complied a list of about 50 shoppers who said they'd been ordered to leave the mall or followed and harassed by mall officials without cause or reason.
The Colorado American Civil Liberties Union also said they're investigating similar complaints against the mall. |
