(TIML NEWS) The shutdown comes over one month after SZA experienced racial profiling at one of their locations due to racist profiling smh.
To train its staff on proper and fair diversity practices, Sephora announced its decision to temporarily close all U.S. stores to enact this change. The shutdown will take place on Wednesday (June 5), CNNreports.
“Sephora believes in championing all beauty, living with courage, and standing fearlessly together to celebrate our differences,” a statement on the brand’s Facebook reads. “We will never stop building a community where diversity is expected, self-expression is honored, all are welcomed, and you are included.”
At the end of April, singer-songwriter SZA tweeted her experience at a Calabasas, Calif., based store, claiming an employee believed she was going to shoplift. “Lmao Sandy Sephora location 614 Calabasas called security to make sure I wasn’t stealing,” SZA said. “We had a long talk. U have a blessed day Sandy.” The revelation prompted a public response from Sephora’s Twitter account, stating, “You are a part of the Sephora family, and we are committed to ensuring every member of our community feels welcome and included at our stores.”
The news follows a similar path taken by Starbucks last year. The coffee conglomerate enacted an anti-bias training program by shutting down 8,000 stores across the United States. The decision followed an incident at a Philadelphia store where officers were called on two black men by a store’s employee. The two men said they were just meeting at the restaurant and were apprehended even though they weren’t committing a crime.
It makes me wonder though. Would they have shut down if the person this happened to, wasn’t famous?
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