11-Year-Old Black Boy Offered Gift Card In Response to Being Falsely Accused of Stealing at California Safeway
A Black child was reminded earlier this week that he has a robust support system behind him after being falsely accused of stealing food from a local supermarket.
On Wednesday, May 5, dozens of students and teachers from Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy and local community members protested at a Safeway in San Francisco, California, after 11-year-old Ja’Mari Oliver was accused of stealing a sandwich from the grocery store, despite showing security guards his receipt, the San Francisco Examiner reported.
Students support Black classmate accused of stealing from San Francisco Safeway store. Photo: screen grab/Youtube
Students in San Francisco gathered and marched Wednesday in support of their fellow classmate, a fifth grader, who was accused of stealing a sandwich from a Safeway store. The child says he was singled out because of the color of his skin and that the ordeal was a traumatizing experience.
Students and Teachers Protest at Castro Safeway After Fifth-Grader Gets Racially Profiled
There was a kid-led march on Wednesday to protest the treatment of a San Francisco fifth-grader who was accused of stealing a sandwich at the Safeway on Market and Church streets.
The angry-making situation arose last week, on April 26, when 11-year-old Ja mari Oliver, who is Black, went into the Safeway by himself to buy lunch for his first day back at school after 14 months of remote learning. On his way out of the store, he was stopped by a security guard and asked to show proof that he d paid for his sandwich.
S.F. mom, school rally after Black fifth-grader accused of stealing at Safeway
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11-year-old Ja’Mari Oliver was stopped at the Safeway in the Castro when a security guard accused him of stealing a sandwich.Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle
Ja’Mari Oliver walked into the Safeway on Market Street to buy a sandwich for his lunch, which he would eat at school for the first time in more than 14 months.
He was excited early on April 26 about seeing friends that day and feeling proud that his mom let him go into Safeway in the Castro neighborhood by himself.
The fifth-grader paid for his meal at the deli counter and headed out to meet his mom. Before he made it to the door, two security guards and a store employee stopped him, and questioned whether he had stolen the items.