When a New York City teen was refused an interview by clothing store Necessary Clothing, she never suspected that it might be because of her skin tone.
But that is exactly what Mali D’Janite, 17, says happened to her.
D’Janite told the New York Post that she was denied an interview with the store manager because she was too dark, according to another employee.
“I was in shock and confused. I called my mother right away in tears, she told BET.
D’Janite had just moved back to New York City from Phoenix, a city in which she struggled with discrimination. When she returned to New York, she assumed she had left most of these type of problems in Arizona.
“I’ve been discriminated against by Caucasians before, especially living in Phoenix and attending school with mostly Caucasians, but hearing it from a Black man, and an African at that, was horrific!” she said.
The store manager, Samuel Osei, denies the allegation, telling the Post: “She’s my sister, why should I do that?”
After filing a complaint with the company, D’Janite says she was offered a position to work for the online store in Los Angeles. But she decided not to take it.
“I refuse to work for a racist brand,” she explained.
Necessary Clothing has yet to comment on the incident.
