Aussie Rapper Barkaa speaks up about racial profiling at Kmart – “I felt like crying when I got out of the shop.”
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Australian Rapper Barkaa was allegedly racially profiled at her local Kmart and she wasn’t afraid to share her frustration about the horrible incident on social media.
The Malyangapa and Barkindji woman whose real name is Chloe Quayle, detailed her experience in an Instagram post, asking the budget retailer to “please do better”.
Barkaa revealed that she and her family were stalked in the store by three people, two of whom were allegedly employees as they were in Kmart uniforms.
They were watched over while shopping and upon checking out, were told by multiple staff that they needed to check their bags – all the while allowing other customers to leave the store without issue.
“Last night at 8pm on the 8th of June, I walked into Kmart with my family and was spotted by one of the women who worked there, who continued staring at us,” Barkaa explained.
“She then grabs two young men (one that was in uniform and one that wasn’t) and all three followed me through the toy section with my young kids, snickering things under their breath and laughing.”
Australian rapper, Barkaa. Image Credit: ABC
The rapper said she confronted the woman by asking “if she was okay”, to which the lady responded, “Yes, just looking at this”.
Barkaa then told her: “I know you are following me, can you please stop? It’s rude”.
“I called out to my kids and said ‘Come on, babies. Let’s go’. As we were leaving the two young men followed us. I decided to start video recording as it was distressing and humiliating for me… They then turned down another aisle,” she continued.
“Once we got to the checkout, scanned all of our items, and proceeded to walk out, we were then stopped by a young woman who said ‘I have to check your bag’. Three workers then came over and proceeded to pull the items I just bought out of the bag in front of others at the store.”
“They didn’t check anybody else’s bag who was leaving the store. I said to them ‘I have no need to steal, I’m in here with my kids. I have more than enough to pay for these items’, they then said it’s just what they had to do because it was their job.”
The artist added that she felt she had to speak up about racism and discrimination because she has the platform to do so.
“I have the platform to do so”. Image Credit: The Guardian
“And I wish this wasn’t my job, but so many of us are still being discriminated against and racially profiled, followed around in stores and targeted just for being who we are,” she wrote.
“Tonight I felt humiliated and ashamed. I had people looking at me and my young kids like we had done something wrong… I felt like crying when I got out of the shop but instead I had to walk off and explain to my kids what just happened and comfort my eldest daughter when she said to me ‘We just wanted to go shopping, we always go there,’. I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
Barkaa’s Instagram post amassed hundreds of comments as users expressed their rage toward Kmart.
“Absolutely ridiculous – why is this still happening? Kmart, get your sh** together!” one person wrote.
“Disgusting… Kmart, how are you going to address this?” chimed another.
“What the f**k? Thank you for speaking out, sis! Shame on you, Kmart. Sounds like you need to put all your staff through cultural incompetence training!” criticised a third.
A spokeswoman for Kmart touched on the issue, saying: “The company is aware of Barkaa’s experience in our store and we are investigating internally and taking it extremely seriously”.
“We have been in contact with Barkaa and are speaking with her to understand more about her experience. We want all our customers to have a great experience every time they are in one of our stores and we understand we have not delivered on this experience this time around.”
Post Credit: @barkaa__
Multiple studies conducted over the last year proved that experiences similar to Barkaa’s are still common. Researchers from Monash University, on behalf of Inclusive Australia, last May discovered that major discrimination against First Nations people remain at elevated levels.
The survey analysed a variety of measures including people’s experiences of discrimination, feelings of belonging and wellbeing, and prejudices towards minority groups.
Data collected found that the percentage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who admitted experiencing at least one form of major discrimination remained at 49.7 percent.
The ones who claimed to experience the most discrimination were young people and Indigenous people.
The survey also studied “everyday” discrimination, defined as “more chronic, routine, and relatively minor experiences of unfair treatment”, like “being treated with less respect and courtesy, receiving poorer service than others at restaurants or stores, or being called names”.
This type of discrimination was highest for Indigenous people compared to the rest of the groups surveyed, having risen dramatically since December 2018.
“The rise in direct discrimination at the personal level – that’s the really worrying one,” Inclusive Australia board member and Yorta Yorta man Ian Hamm said at the time.
“That fundamentally says there are people who have taken it upon themselves to be obnoxious to another person, for no other reason than they feel entitled to.”
Barkaa caught footage of the incident. Image Credit: news.com.au
Barkaa followed up her post with an Instagram story that contains a screenshot of a direct message from the retailer. Kmart wrote that they were “very sorry” to hear about her experience and “would really value the opportunity to talk with you on this”.
“Hello, will be in touch with myself and my management to discuss a solution and to have a conversation around this,” the artist responded.
“Still very upset about the whole situation that happened last night with me and family. Will send you a number over shortly.”
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