Tesco apologises as Black magazine publisher ‘racially profiled’ and offered bananas

Tesco launches probe as Black magazine publisher ‘racially profiled’ and offered bananas

Tesco has apologised after a Black publisher says she was “racially profiled” while shopping and then offered a bunch of bananas after she complained.

Serlina Boyd, 42, was with her two children at a branch in Hampshire when she says was followed by two security guards for no apparent reason. When she challenged them and asked to see the manager, she says he then offered her the fruit.

Ms Boyd sent a formal complaint to Tesco, questioning whether the supermarket’s staff members undergo adequate diversity training.

She received an apology, but was told the only action was “where appropriate they have refreshed their relevant training”, which she condemned as “not good enough”.

Describing her ordeal, she told The Independent: “Racism in Portsmouth is getting worse and I actually avoid going into the local supermarkets as much as possible.

“It’s as though Tesco needs a handbook about how to deal with Black people in their stores.”

“I was racially profiled. Tesco - and all supermarkets - need to look at how they treat Black people when they come into the store, that the system has to change.

“We're not all criminals and, while I don't want to look like a miserable Black woman making a complaint because I've gone public with this, I do want to see Black people treated fairly when they go into a supermarket.”

In 2020, Ms Boyd launched the UK’s first major magazines to celebrate Black children, Cocoa Girl and later launched Cocoa Boy, a few months later. Copies of her magazines used to be stocked in the store where she was approached.

She added: “This needs to be told because so many people are saying that they’re experiencing similar treatment and Black people have the right to go shopping without being treated in this way”.

When Ms Boyd was followed on May 11 by the security guards - both appearing to be of Asian heritage - she said one asked her what she wanted: “I challenged them and felt humiliated.”

After she asked to speak to the manager, a man came out and said he didn’t find anything wrong with her being followed or being spoken to by the security guard.

Ms Boyd then stressed how upsetting the experience was for her and her children, along with the fact her magazine was once sold in the store. “Why am I treated like a criminal?” she asked at the time.

She says the manager offered her and her children a bunch of bananas as a “goodwill gesture”. She then took out her phone, started filming the exchange and asked why she was offered bananas, adding that it was offensive because “Black people are constantly called monkeys”.

Tesco replied offering an apology in an email seen by The Independent, while neglecting to offer an explanation for its staff members’ behaviour.

“We sincerely apologise for your experience at our store. We always treat complaints like this extremely seriously,” the email reads. “We want Tesco to be a place where everyone feels welcome, and we are sorry that, on this occasion, you didn’t feel that way.”

Tesco said it launched an internal investigation but neglected to disclose details of the process or the “relevant training” undertaken by colleagues.

“We immediately undertook an internal investigation which has now concluded,” the supermarket giant wrote.

“Whilst we don’t share the specifics of internal investigations, I want to reassure you that the colleagues involved have been made aware of the impact of their actions on you, and where appropriate they have refreshed their relevant training.”

Ms Boyd said she was unimpressed with the email, adding: “Tesco’s response is not good enough.”

Just two weeks earlier, the mum-of-two said her son had been racially abused at a local tennis club by two different boys who called him a monkey.

”I pulled my son out of that club and explained to him that this language is unacceptable; so we had a conversation about racism beforehand.”

A Tesco spokesperson told The Independent: “We’re really sorry for the experience Serlina Boyd and her children had at our store.

“We take this extremely seriously and want all Tesco stores to be places where everyone feels welcome, and we are very sorry that, on this occasion, this was not the case.

“We immediately undertook an internal investigation and the colleagues involved were made aware of the impact of their actions and refreshed the relevant parts of their training.”

Tesco, which is the UK’s biggest private sector employer, launched its Black Action Plan in 2021 which is geared towards helping the supermarket to become more inclusive for Black colleagues, customers and suppliers.

Tesco and other supermarkets have previously come under fire for alleged racial profiling in recent years, with customers decrying the experience of “shopping while Black”.

The Independent revealed that Aldi launched an investigation into claims of racial profiling after a Black female customer was mistakenly accused of theft at one of its stores, last April.

Another Black women alleged that a similar thing happened in west London Aldi store in 2017.

In 2023, a Black TikTok user shared his experience of being intently followed by security guards in a Sainsbury’s branch.

In 2022, Tesco was criticised for security-tagging makeup product for dark-skinned shoppers while the same line for lighter-skinned women was stacked on shelves, as normal.

The brand apologised to a woman in 2020 after her Black disabled brother was falsely accused of shoplifting in an incident that reportedly caused their mother to suffer a panic attack, while a Black former employee launched a legal claim against Tesco over systemic racism.

In 2016, a child of dual heritage won a race discrimination payout from Tesco after he was stopped and manhandled in one its West London branches.