Whining or racism?

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I am new to the Jackson area, so I decided to go look around at the Renaissance at Colony Park outdoor mall in Ridgeland. It was such a nice place. I went into a few stores, and even got an impromptu job interview at one place. I was excited and called to tell my dad. As I was talking, I found my way to Judith Lee’s. I walked in, and noticed a younger Caucasian girl who I assumed to be an employee. I was not greeted or acknowledged by her, but thought nothing of it. I decided to browse some items as I was talking to my dad. There was no one in the store at all. I found my way to a seating area in front of a mirror, and decided to sit for a while to finish talking to my parents. Anyone that knows me knows that I have manners and know how to be considerate. As far as I know, my conversation was at an appropriate level, and as I previously stated, no other customers were in the store. I sat there and talked for over 5 minutes. As I was talking, I was glancing at a mirror and could see that the employee was eyeing me while I was talking. She’d glance, and then fiddle with clothes. She did this repeatedly. I continued talking, then an older, middle-aged Caucasian lady (the manager or store owner I suppose) walked up and pretended to be fixing something, then turned to say that the seating area was for customers who were trying on clothes only. She added, “This is not a Barnes and Noble.” I told my dad I had to go, and hung up. I explained to her that I was at Barnes and Noble earlier, so I knew this wasn’t it. Since she seemed to have a problem with me not actively shopping/browsing, I decided to look around. I’d look at cute things, and look at the prices. As I was browsing, THEN more customers trickled in. She’d go and help the other customers, but was eyeing me from afar. I was looking at a dress (which was quite expensive, btw) and she asked me if I needed her help to price anything (the price was already on the item, as it was with EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE STORE). I said politely, “No ma’am,” and moved on to look at another item. I continued to browse and wonder what I had done wrong. I finally went to the desk and asked, “I’m just trying to figure out what I was doing wrong.” She told me that the seating area was for customers only and proceeded to ask me to leave and not come back. She then ensued to call security. So, I stood there with her to wait on security to arrive. She said, “So you’re not gonna leave?” I replied, “I thought you called security. I was gonna wait on them (so I could explain myself).” She said, “I want you to leave and not come back.” I asked for the number to call security myself. She spouted it out, and asked me to leave. I walked outside as the security guy showed up. He was a middle-aged African American man. She asked him to come inside. They talked for a few minutes. I have no idea what she said to him. When he came out, I tried to explain what happened. He explained that he was in charge of the outside property and that the owner had say of what happened inside. He explained that I was asked not to come back. I told him that he had no worry because I didn’t WANT to come back. I then went to my car, and left the mall completely. I’m not sure if the lady I encountered was just plain rude or what, but I definitely felt that I was mistreated and slightly discriminated against for reasons unknown. I called to explain the situation to my dad, and started crying because I was just THAT upset/angry. The lady that I encountered was definitely rude, and possibly another ‘R’ word. Just beware if you ever decide to shop there.

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