In a suit filed against luxury brand Versace, a fired employee is claiming the Bay area store where he worked had a special code for black customers, and that he was fired for having poor fashion sense.
According to TMZ, a store manager told the employee about a code called “D410,” which was used to let staff know a black person was in the store. Upon hearing the code the employee responded to the manager, saying: “You know that I’m African-American?”
The employee was fired within two weeks and was told he hadn’t “lived the luxury life.” He is suing for unpaid wages and damages.
Versace is denying all allegations and has filed a motion to dismiss the suit. Not sure where this will go, beyond “he said, she said.” Versace has deep pockets and can afford a prolonged legal battle if it gets to that point.
These types of stories should not surprise you. If true racial profiling has existed for hundreds of years. The issue at stake here is why society chooses to dehumanize and make certain people, typically black people, into others. The reasons are far and wide, but they stem all stem from fear of losing privilege.