Audio Tape Shows Denver Shopping Mall Wanting To Weed Out Blacks
/Statements captured on tape appear to show a
major corporation wanting to weed out young black customers from one of
Colorado's biggest and busiest shopping malls -- the Aurora Mall. In
the 4-minute telephone conversation captured on audiotape, the leasing
agentfor the mall lays out the Aurora Mall's future marketing
direction to a mall tenant.
In April of 2003 the mall's owners unveiled a $100 million renovation plan including more than $15 million in tax breaks from the city of Aurora. Simon Compari, who recorded the conversation, said he heard similar comments a day earlier when he talked with the same agent about extending his lease at the mall. "She told me that she didn't know if the food that I was having or prepared would cater to the new type of clientele that the mall was trying to (attract)," Compari said. Compari sells ribs, hot wings and barbecue. "It's pretty much soul food," he said. [more]
- "You're saying that they want to bring in more white clientele," an Aurora mall tenant asked on the tape. "Or just more clientele, period. But we're not getting the white customer," Aurora Mall's top leasing agent responded. "Is the mall going to, like, plan on just marketing primarily to white customers to get them into the mall or ...?" the tenant asked "I would say our marketing is going to be more white-focused, yes," said the leasing agent.
- "We never marketed to the ethnic customer, that's just what we got," the leasing agent said on the audio tape."What
you guys want to do is reduce the, ah, you know, the uh..." the tenant
asked. "We want to reduce the negative, um, aspects of the Center --
one of
them is the young, black customer," the leasing agent said on the tape
In April of 2003 the mall's owners unveiled a $100 million renovation plan including more than $15 million in tax breaks from the city of Aurora. Simon Compari, who recorded the conversation, said he heard similar comments a day earlier when he talked with the same agent about extending his lease at the mall. "She told me that she didn't know if the food that I was having or prepared would cater to the new type of clientele that the mall was trying to (attract)," Compari said. Compari sells ribs, hot wings and barbecue. "It's pretty much soul food," he said. [more]
- Listen to auido tape [more]
