- Title: Black-owned Oakland beauty shop faces one-two punch of Floyd death, looting
- Date: 3rd June 2020
- Summary: OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JUNE 2, 2020) (REUTERS) BROKEN FENCE OUTSIDE DAC'S BEAUTY BOUTIQUE VARIOUS OF GATE AND SHARDS OF GLASS ON FLOOR AZARIAH COLE-SHEPHARD, NIECE OF OWNER AND EMPLOYEE OF SHOP, STANDING IN SHOP SIGN THAT READS "DAC'S BEAUTY BOUTIQUE" AZARIAH COLE-SHEPHARD, NIECE OF OWNER AND EMPLOYEE OF SHOP, DURING INTERVIEW (SOUNDBITE) (English) AZARIAH COL
- Embargoed: 17th June 2020 02:58
- Keywords: BLM Black Lives Matter Dac's Beauty Boutique George Floyd Minneapolis police shooting black-owned businesses looting
- Location: OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- City: OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Race Relations / Ethnic Issues,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA002CGTET6V
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A black-owned beauty shop in East Oakland is cleaning up, after looters ransacked the store on the sidelines of protests against the killing of an unarmed black man by a white police officer last week.
The store, Dac's Beauty Boutique located in the Durant Square Mall, has been in business for about six years, selling beauty supplies and hair accessories.
On Sunday night, dozens of looters smashed the window of the store and eventually broke through a metal gate, giving them access to several other neighboring stores inside the mall. They then wrecked the beauty store and used it as a launchpoint from which to loot other stores.
Looting has broken out across the country and come mainly after dark following largely peaceful protests during the day. The protests have been happening on a daily basis since the May 25 death of 46-year-old George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody
Azariah Cole-Shephard, 22, niece of the owner and an employee of the shop, said the frustrations are two-fold.
"As black people, our frustrations are kind of two-pronged because we want to be upset, and of course we are upset, that our possessions that we worked hard for got destroyed, but at the same time we're tired of people killing and brutalizing us for no reasons and getting away with it," Cole-Shephard said.
She and her aunt, as well as friends, spent the Tuesday cleaning the shop and salvaging what they could save.
The store was already struggling financially due to the COVID-19 shelter-in-place order and now must contend with the loss of many of its products.
The identities of the looters isn't known, but Cole-Shephard has a message for them.
"Just take better care of your communities," Cole-Shephard said.
She said she's found it difficult as a black person to cope with such tragedies back-to-back.
"It's really created a very rock in a hard place kind of situation for us because we have to try and process the traumas of both at the same time. We have to figure out how we can continue to support the community while also trying to pick up the pieces for ourself," she said.
(Production: Nathan Frandino) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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