Rapper Barkaa has alleged that she was racially profiled in Kmart last night, taking to social media to call out the discrimination.
Barkaa, real name, Chloe Quayle, is a Malyangapa and Barkindji woman. In an Instagram post, the musician explained that the alleged incident took place on Wednesday, June 8th at 8pm in a Kmart in Merrylands, Western Sydney, urging the store to “please do better.”
“I walked into Kmart with my family and was spotted by one of the women who worked there, who continued staring at us,” Barkaa wrote. “She then grabs two young men (one that was in uniform and one that wasn’t) and all three followed me through the toy section with my young kids, snickering things under their breathe and laughing.
I asked her if she was ok? She then said ‘yes, just looking at this’ I then said to her ‘I know you are following me, can you please stop, it’s rude.’ I called out to my kids and said ‘c’mon babies let’s go,’ as we were leaving the two young men followed us so I decided to start video recording as it was distressing and humiliating for me… they then turned down another isle.”
When Barkaa made it to the check out, she alleges that she was approached by an employee. “Once we got to the check out and checked all of our items through and proceeded to walk out, we were then stopped by a young woman who said “I have to check your bag,” she continued.
“Three workers then came over and proceeded to pull the items I just bought out of the bag in front of others at the store, and didn’t check anybody else’s bag who were leaving the store. I said to them ‘I have no need to steal, I’m in here with my kids, I have more than enough to pay for these items,’ they then said it’s just what they had to do because it was their job.”
Barkaa ended her post by explaining why she decided to speak out. “I have to speak up about racism and discrimination because I have the platform to do so and I wish this wasn’t my job, but so many of us are still being discriminated against and racially profiled, followed around in stores and targeted just for being who we are,” she wrote.
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“Tonight I felt humiliated and ashamed, I had people looking at me and my young kids like we had done something wrong… I felt like crying when I got out of the shop but instead I had to walk off and explain to my kids what just happened and comfort my eldest daughter when she said to me ‘we just wanted to go shopping, we always go there.’
The rapper immediately received an outpouring of support. “Sending biggest mob love and light to you and your bubs today my sis,” commented Philly. “Sending you love, this is disgusting,” wrote Camp Cope’s Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich. “This fkn sucks,” added Urthboy.
At the time of writing, Kmart hasn’t responded to the incident.
Barkaa was included in our list of 22 artists to watch in 2022. “She effortlessly weaves serious subjects with wry humour in her lyrics, all performed with a stupendous level of confidence. An abrasive and intelligent rapper, Barkaa should be garnering a wider global audience soon,” we wrote of the rising star.
