Aurora Mall, Black Leaders Reach Agreement

AURORA, Colo. -- A boycott of the Aurora Mall was averted Wednesday after the shopping center's owners agreed to demands made by African-American leaders -- demands issued after 7NEWS aired an audiotape showing one of the mall's leasing agents talking about how the company wanted to weed out young black customers.

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Black Leaders Threaten To Boycott Mall Aurora Mall's Owners React To Shocking Audiotape Hear Leasing Agent As She Talks About Attracting White, Not Ethnic Customers

Simon Properties, owner of the Aurora Mall, agreed to appoint a black person to a director-level executive position at the shopping center, to add three additional African-American security guards, to hire an African-American consultant to deal with security issues, and to employ an African-American executive at the corporate office in Indianapolis to work with the redevelopment team.

Both sides say that the agreement makes the shopping center even better than it was a week ago.

"This is a new day in America -- a new symbol of how the corporate sector can work with the African American community to bring about change," said Bishop Acen Phillips, with American Church United. "They gave us confidence that they really, really want to be a good corporate partner."

"You ought to hold your head up high that you will be able to come into this mall and see people who look like you, who act like you, who care about you. And we're not going to allow you to destroy this mall, we are going to police our own," said community activist Alvertis Simmons.

Community leaders said that with the agreement, which will take three or four more days to finalize, the mall's owners went beyond their expectations.

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