HOUSTON – A male shopper is suing Target for racially profiling him last year.
In a lawsuit filed on Feb. 2 in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas, Gerald Robinson alleges the Humble location of the Minneapolis-based retailer discriminated against him because he is black.
The suit explains Robinson went to the defendant’s store at 6931 FM 1960 Rd. E. on Mar. 30, 2017, to eat dinner and purchase headphones.
Robinson, whom court documents say manages an eatery at the adjacent George Bush Intercontinental Airport and is a college student, asserts a white female stared at him when he entered the store, adding the woman followed him throughout the business.
She, at one point, purportedly remarked into a device she was carrying, ““I’m following the black guy,” to which the original petition says caused the plaintiff to feel embarrassment and shame as he was the lone black male there.
Court further state that the woman prevented him from going into the restaurant and loudly labeled him a thief as he walked to his vehicle.
Maintaining he did not steal anything, Robinson sought assistance from the store manager to no avail.
“The plaintiff was a 21-year old black male who wished to buy food and merchandise at a Target store but was denied this right solely because of his race and the defendant’s intentional and purposeful racial profiling of the plaintiff to such an extreme that the plaintiff could not close a contract to make any purchases in the store,” the suit says.
Consequently, the complainant seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.
Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas Case No. 4:18-CV-0316