Protesters claim bias by Town Center mall

Aurora city hall urged to hold public hearings on issue

Four of the protesters, who were black, described how they believed they either were victims of racial profiling or witnessed minorities being harassed by security guards at Town Center at Aurora, East Alameda Avenue and Interstate 225.

The protesters carried signs denouncing the treatment they alleged is being carried out by the mall's manager, Simon Property Group Inc., which is considered the nation's largest developer of shopping malls.

The signs carried messages such as "Shopping at Simon is Separate and Unequal," "Our $ is Green, Too!!!" and "No Tax $ for Racist Companies."

Ashleah Howard, 21, said she used to work at a clothing store and for Verizon while at the mall for a year and four months, but she quit because she didn't like how she said minority clientele were being targeted.

"I witnessed a lot of acts of discrimination - children being kicked out for no reason, just by the way they dressed, just being a minority," she said.

Spencer Shelton, 21, said he used to shop at the Town Center at Aurora, but now goes to other malls, such as Park Meadows and Cherry Creek, where he says he is free from harassment.

Shelton said he would be stopped at the Aurora mall for wearing his baseball cap backward and for wearing baggy clothing.

"It's freedom of speech," Shelton said. "Why can't I wear it the way I want to wear it?"

Michael Carter Jr., 24, said he believes that Simon Property Group is being hypocritical because, while its security guards allegedly stop people for the way they dress, it allows merchants to sell clothes that Carter believes project the stereotypical images of gang members.

"We just want to be respected as human beings," he said. "We just want to be equal. We just want to be treated fairly."

Two activist groups, the Colorado Progressive Coalition and the Colorado Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, have called for city officials to hold hearings concerning the allegations against Simon Property Group.

Tuesday's turnout fell short of the dozens of young black and Hispanic customers who both organizations had thought would appear at the news conference.

Nancy Sheffield, director of Aurora's neighborhood services department, said that the city's Human Relations Commission is handling the complaints and has forwarded the allegations to Simon Property Group, which is expected to respond with a letter by the end of the week.

The Human Relations Commission reviews complaints of discrimination in Aurora.

A representative for Simon Property could not be reached for comment Tuesday night. But the developer previously has said that it doesn't tolerate discrimination.

"Obviously, nobody at the city would want to see any public place discriminate, however, we are confident that Simon Property is looking into the allegations and assuring that their policies and rules of conduct are being enforced fairly at the Town Center, and they have assured the Human Relations Commission that they will be responding," Sheffield said.

gutierrezh@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5204