‘I am hurt’: N.S. man says he was racially profiled at Halifax bakery – Halifax | 24CA News
Fred Lucas-Wilson has been going to LF Bakery on Gottingen Street in Halifax for years. During a latest go to, he says he was handled rudely by a workers member.
“I do not feel as a Nova Scotia Black, in the middle of downtown Gottingen street, that I need to be treated that way,” mentioned Lucas-Wilson.
On April 29, Lucas-Wilson says he stopped by the bakery to choose up greater than $50-worth of pastries for his mates that have been visiting from out of city.
He says earlier than he was given an opportunity to inform the supervisor how he wished the freshly-baked chocolate and plain croissants bagged, she bagged all of the croissants collectively and tossed them on the counter in entrance of him.
“Before I went to leave, I went over to who I didn’t know was the manager, and I said to her ‘am I being treated this way because I’m Black,’” mentioned Lucas-Wilson. “I didn’t know what it was when I got home, I just didn’t feel right in my soul. And I said you know what, I am hurt.”
The proprietor of LF Bakery says the business has no downside with racism.
Vanessa Wright/Global News
The proprietor of LF Bakery, Laurent Marcel, addressed the encounter in an e mail.
“There are people of colour in the company and there is no problem with racism. My wife works with LF and is from Africa,” mentioned Marcel.
The proprietor apologized on behalf of the supervisor, and mentioned she is “nervous by nature.”
Human rights advocate, Raymond Sheppard, says this response didn’t present a robust signal of accountability, which may additional the trauma confronted by African-Nova Scotians who expertise racial profiling.
Humans rights advocate, Raymond Sheppard, says racial profiling is rising in Nova Scotia.
“It is insulting,” mentioned Sheppard. “It is psychologically damaging to know that you have suffered a mortal wound and to treat that with a band aid.”
Sheppard says companies ought to put coaching in place on the historical past and tradition of African Nova Scotians to higher perceive race relations.
As for Lucas-Wilson, he says companies ought to be extra intentional about how they work together with clients, by prioritizing reality and accountability.
“I just think that there needs to be a standard, and the standard should be that everyone who comes in here is welcome. Everyone who comes in here is treated with respect and treated with dignity and with value,” mentioned Lucas-Wilson.
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