My name is Charles T. Kellam. I am a Designer, an Inventor and an Entrepreneur. I was racially profiled, harassed, and stalked by the Sales Manager of Nordstrom Scottsdale Fashion Square in Arizona.

My crime: being a Black Man, and existing.

I was so disturbed by the incident, that I contacted Erik Nordstrom — the CEO of Nordstrom, Inc. — directly. I drafted a formal letter detailing exactly what was done to me. He never apologized. He never took accountability. Instead, he gaslighted me into believing that I was the problem for standing up for my own human rights.

And then Nordstrom doubled down — suggesting that my response to their racism is what is harming their reputation.

Let that sink in.

What I experienced that day was not just humiliating. It was violating. The feeling of being racially targeted and attacked in public — in a place where I had spent years as a loyal customer — was the most horrendous feeling I have ever experienced in my life. It felt like being electrocuted. Like being publicly shamed for simply being. For your natural aura. For who you are.

That feeling does not leave you. I have been actively focusing on my mental health in the aftermath of what Nordstrom put me through. And in that process, one thing became crystal clear to me:

I refuse to allow this act of inhumanity happen to another person again.

I am FEARLESS. CONFIDENT. CAPABLE. And I will not be silenced.

I am taking this racist retail giant head-on — legally, publicly, and with everything I have. But going up against a $14 billion machine requires resources. Every single coin you contribute brings Nordstrom one step closer to the accountability they have refused to offer on their own.

It is my personal responsibility — and my promise to you — to make sure that no human being ever has to feel profiled, stalked, harassed, humiliated, or made to feel less than human at the hands of Nordstrom again.

This is bigger than me. This is for every person who has ever been followed in a store. Watched at the register. Doubted in a dressing room. Laughed at when asking a price. Besmirched when cultural. Made to feel like a suspect in a space where they were simply a customer.

Join me in the fight. Every dollar moves us forward.

gofundme.com/u/charles-kellam

— Charles T. Kellam

Designer · Inventor · Entrepreneur · Founder, Fruitful Rooster LLC

#BoycottNordstrom #JusticeForCharlesKellam #CivilRights #BlackOwnedBusiness #WeWillNotBeQuiet #BanNordstrom #CancelNordstrom