A black man who brought his 4-year-old son to buy paint was racially characterized and refused service at Hobby Craft after staff told him the paint might be used for “graffiti.” said.
Lewis Gray, who works as equality, diversity and inclusion manager at Sport Wales, said she wanted to buy spray paint to remake her son’s bicycle helmet in the colors of his favorite mountain biker.
Gray said he was only able to purchase supplies after calling his white relatives and asking them to buy them, and accused Hobbycraft of not appreciating the “black pound.”
Hobbycraft said it was “urgently” investigating the incident.
Gray said he and his son, Parker, were refused service Saturday afternoon at the Hobby Craft store at Harlech Retail Park in Newport. The store manager reportedly said, “We can’t provide service, and you might get graffitied over this.” .
When asked why they had made that assumption, he said staff actually had a “Challenge 25” policy in place, requiring people who appeared to be under 25 to check their identity when purchasing age-restricted products. He said he said he would ask for proof. Age-restricted products include knives, aerosol paint, Christmas crackers, helium, and more.
Gray said he believed he was being racially profiled because of the way the manager and clerk looked him up and down before refusing to serve him. At my age, if you have a protected character, you just have a sense of these things. I felt they were trying to justify their bigoted actions and found Challenge 25 as a way to justify their actions. ”
In England and Wales, it is an offense to sell spray paint to anyone under the age of 16.
“They told me, ‘You might be a mystery shopper trying to get us,'” said Gray, 32. I was with her 4-year-old, who looks like a big 6-year-old, and she told them she just wanted to draw on a helmet. I haven’t gotten her ID anywhere for at least 8 years. ”
He believes he was racially profiled. “I was refused service because I was black and wearing a Nike tracksuit and Yeezys.” [trainers]” he wrote virus thread With X.
The thread started like this: “During today’s episode of wearing black skin in public, I was racially profiled and denied service at @Hobbycraft. Buying paint for an arts and crafts project with my 4 year old I was refused service because I thought I might be trying to cause a “graffiti incident.”
Parker wanted to paint his bike helmet in the colors of Fabio Wibmer, his favorite rider on the Red Bull team, Gray said, adding: “We didn’t just buy spray paint, we also bought primer and sealant. “I did,” he added. I don’t think I would have gotten as many things as I did if I had been doodling. ”
Parker said she began crying when staff refused her service.
In the end, Mr Gray was only able to buy around £48 worth of paint after calling his white grandfather, John, to go to the till. When he and his grandfather, Parker, re-entered the store together, a manager came over, this time with a body-worn camera, he said. “It was kind of unpleasant. I thought this escalated,” Gray said.
John claimed the paint was for him and was provided using Gray’s Apple Pay. He asked his grandson’s staff, “Can’t you believe he’s over 25?” Look at him! If he was a white man wearing jeans and a shirt, would you have served him?”
Gray writes of X: “The funny thing is, a white guy came and bought the paint and he didn’t get ID.” He just said, “He’s not with me, I’m over 16 and the paint was I promise it’s for me.” Is a white man’s promise more respected than a black man’s promise? @Hobbycraft Black his pounds are worth nothing??”
Ms Gray said the whole experience was “really humiliating”. “All I was thinking was, don’t bite, don’t do anything, Parker is watching. I had to be pretty passive and tolerant, but inside I was completely I was furious.”
But when they got home, Parker asked him: “Dad, were you not served food because you were black?” The boy, who was lighter-skinned than his father, then asked : “If I were like you, Dad”, would I be served?
he said: “How do I answer those questions?” Thanks to Hobbycraft, I found myself in a situation where I had to have a conversation with my 4-year-old about race. ”
Gray said he wants Hobbycraft to apologize to Parker and suggested staff need unconscious bias training. He said it was unlikely he would return to Hobbycraft again.
A Hobbycraft spokesperson said: “We are deeply sorry to learn of Lewis’ experience at our store.” This is not at all the service we expect to provide and we are looking at this as a matter of urgency. ”
In a subsequent email to Gray, Hobbycraft said it was continuing to investigate. “Your situation involved the purchase of an age-restricted product that required age verification. This means that all colleagues are required to request identification if they believe the customer is under 25. Unfortunately, they cannot approve the sale because you were unable to share your ID with our colleagues.”
