2009-03-29
Shopping While Black
I can so relate to this. Being followed in a store or having people explain to me the type of store I was in. When I worked retail in high school, I once had a customer tell me I didn't provide good customer service while I was assisting another customer. She then explained that I wasn't in Dallas, and that I should know how to deal with people of her caliber. I lived in the same town she did, but to her, I had to be from the inner city of Dallas. The woman was fighting with a 17 year old and insinuating I was beneath her, not due to age or maturity level, but race.
I am a bit upset that the actress "dressing down" included her wearing her hair natural vs. straight, that is a bit insulting to assume her hair in it's natural state isn't "upscale" enough.
Of course I have decided I won't shop in certain stores due to their history. I will never set foot in a Neiman Marcus after learning that in the 1950s blacks could buy, but couldn't try on clothes in their stores. I don't shop at JC Penney or Sears due to their need to have black folks shop in their catalogs exclusively in the segregated south.
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39 comments:
It was a "class" - not a race issue.
I'm a black woman. That should be stated up front.
First, I was shocked.
Then, I was shocked that no one spoke up.
Then, I was shocked that I was shocked at any of this.
I know this happens, I've been followed around stores, or noticed people looking at me suspiciously. That first guy, the guy who said "I bet she pulled the race card..." I was too through with him.
I wonder how much further the show went with it's analysis of this. I don't think enough was made of the fact that only 20% of the time did anyone speak up. That's a problem and speaks greatly to what's really going on in our "post-racial" society.
It was a race issue because typically there is an assumption that race=class. If you are black, you are assumed to be of a lower socioeconomic background. When the shop employee told the patron to shop in Harlem, it was telling. They were located in the Soho district. She could have told her a list of other areas of New York to shop in, but she chose Harlem, which is assumed to be predominantly black.
The woman was well dressed in one scenario and dressed down in another, even the way one dresses doesn't prove class or economic status. The few millionaires I know don't really dress that much different than most middle class folks I know, some dress even more casual and down than other folks. My husband's grandparents are millionaires, live in a very nice home, but if you saw the clothes they wore, or the places they shopped, it wouldn't indicate wealth.
I once saw Ross Perot gift shopping in a Sam Moon, a chain of stores in Dallas known for their inexpensive costume jewelry and knock off purses. I didn't see a limo or security surrounding him either.
I wonder how much further the show went with it's analysis of this. I don't think enough was made of the fact that only 20% of the time did anyone speak up. That's a problem and speaks greatly to what's really going on in our "post-racial" society.
What shocked me was that in another segment about gay bashing, people seemed to be more vocal about their compassion and concern about their injustice than the black woman's injustice at the store.
No, it was a class issue because when the Black man got offened the saleswoman pointed out that he was more their type of patron.
HE projected racism in his case.
i love this show. I can believe the one white guy's comment, "she probably played the black card." I don't know how many times I've heard wp accuse bp of doing this, like everything is just perfect and we make all this stuff up and no racism exist in this world.
The acting is so obvious in this set-up. The real prejudiced shop owners are more discreet in their discrimination. They won't flat-out say "Go shop at Harlem. We don't have the kind of things you like. I know you'll put stuff in your purse." Racist shop owners are rude, act like they can't be bothered to help, or are too eager to help (following you everywhere, asking every five minutes if you need help).
Blatant acting aside, they got the responses they were expecting, unfortunately.
It's sad because I think a lot of black ppl who work in retail are now programmed to equate other black shoppers with not belonging as well. I remember a few months ago I was shopping in Nordstroms, and yes, my hair is natural, but I was dressed in work attire. A black sales person couldn't keep her eyes off of me as I was looking through the clothing racks. I purposefully dropped something on the floor, just to see what she would do, and in her best Flo Jo impersonation, she came running over. I stopped what I was doing and basically dared her to walk any further closer to me and asked if she thought I was stealing something. Needless to say, she looked like a deer caught in headlights & literally backed away from me.
I have had so many bad shopping experiences that I have developed a phobia for "foreign" shopping stores. I am not such a consumerist as a result. I can get all the stuff I need from 4 stores.
And those are the only ones I go to. I have done this for years. Little boutiques are a no go for me. I think they should investigate a potential disorder involving fear of shopping.
LOL! @ the guy who said , the black card. How hypocritical.
And dressing up to go shopping? WTF! SO People of other races can dress down and go shopping but a black person has to dress up?
What I don't get is that after all this negative treatment, black people still go to these high end stores to shop? Seriously. Is having expensive stuff worth the dehumanization of your people?
Ugh. Seeing stuff like this in this day and age is so sad.
I noticed in the clip is that some of the customers who did and did not speak up when that black woman was being treated horribly in the store were British. Interesting.
Wow. This left me speechless. I never shop at JCPenny or Sears because I think their stuff is cheap, and now I'm really glad I don't shop there.
Thanks for sharing this!
This happened to PB and I at Macy's in SF. We were shopping for a sofa and they had 2 workers stalking me. We would separate and pick up everything tangible to drive them crazy. I know they asked ME not him about 30 times if they could help. Then they kept trying to steer me to the clearance. PB finally broke and quietly cussed them out and pointed out the one we had come in with the intent to buy. They at least pretended to be embarrassed at being caught and a mgr came out to try and soothe it over. They are on our banned list too.
I have never been one who could stand by and let someone being harassed like that. I just cant take it.
I haven't experienced it as blatantly as in the video but I have been followed around and I have been asked so many questions that made my whole shopping experience nasty to where I have walked out of lots of stores. It's sick when someone wont even let you shop because they stalk you and keep asking if you needed any help or if there was a particular thing you were looking for... Makes me sick. Shopping just annoys me and I try to do it as least as I possibly can.
Another thing that sickens me is when a majority of folks want to claim black folks are pulling and playing the race card when they speak up against discrimination. We are supposed to stay quiet no matter how much people get out of their way to make us uncomfortable and discriminate on us. Sick rubbish!
Sid sd:
"It was a race issue because typically there is an assumption that race=class. If you are black, you are assumed to be of a lower socioeconomic background."
Very, very true.
Not at all surprised that this stuff still goes on. In all honesty, people tend to avoid getting involved with all kinds of scenarios. ABC also did a show where 99% of people ignored a little (white) girl during a mock abduction. So I honestly don't think that that aspect of it was racist. But, did anyone else notice that the foreign born whites appeared to be more upset about what they saw?
When I suspect I'm being profiled, I make a snooty remark before leaving.
"When the shop employee told the patron to shop in Harlem, it was telling." This was fake. There wasn't anything telling about this. When somebody sees another person fall down, alot people don't help them up, it's human nature to ignore things that don't concern you. This piece by ABC was lame.
There wasn't anything telling about this. When somebody sees another person fall down, alot people don't help them up, it's human nature to ignore things that don't concern you.
So in your mind, humans lack empathy and concern for others?
"Of course I have decided I won't shop in certain stores due to their history. I will never set foot in a Neiman Marcus after learning that in the 1950s blacks could buy, but couldn't try on clothes in their stores. I don't shop at JC Penney or Sears due to their need to have black folks shop in their catalogs exclusively in the segregated south."
Siddity,
Are you saying that based on what some corporations did decades ago, you will not visit them today? Wouldn't you have to put many more establishments on your "do not go" list?
Yep. I just named a few. I don't drink Coca Cola anymore, most of the companies I deal with are fairly new and came after segregation. I try not to participate or frequent companies I find objectionable. I avoid Wal Mart at all costs too for different reasons. I don't shop Saks or Macys either.
"When the shop employee told the patron to shop in Harlem, it was telling." This was fake. There wasn't anything telling about this. When somebody sees another person fall down, alot people don't help them up, it's human nature to ignore things that don't concern you. This piece by ABC was lame."
Really? Exactly HOW can anybody make this stuff up? Are you that blind to the the real world?
Funny how the people who leave comments like this on Siditty's page are ALWAYS under the username "Anonymous". Your comments would be more plausible if we actually knew who you were. You must be one of those "Racism is officially over now that Obama is president" types, huh? I'll bet.
I am not sure were Uglyblackjohn came up with the class not race issue. The first part of the experiement presented a woman who was very upscale. The two common denominators were race and sex.
Siditty I am with you. Natural hair equals low class, wtf.
Yawn. If you can't find real racism, stage fake racism and then get outraged when white people don't get offended enough. Show carefully selected bits and pieces to tell whatever story best promotes your agenda. These "reporters" demonstrate a complete lack of journalistic integrity.
Look up the bystander effect if you want a more legitimate explanation for the customers' behavior.
"Really? Exactly HOW can anybody make this stuff up? Are you that blind to the the real world?"
Um, because they said in the video clip that they were actors...
No, this video is very honest. Yes, it using actors, but this type of stuff happens all of the time. I had an incident while shopping in the northwest suburbs here in the Chicago area at a Kohl's department store when I was 19 years old. I stopped in to pick up some gifts for the little girls I was taking care of and had the manager accuse me of stealing because I was carrying my backpack! Well, I ended up getting a payment, an apology, and the manager was also fired on the spot too. I think it very much helped that at the time that I worked for an attorney so he knew just what to say and do. Yes, I had natural hair and was dressed casual as well. Interestingly enough, when my situation happened a lot of the shoppers spoke up on my behalf. It was one of them that actually called my boss on their cell phone right there in the store. The looks on the store managements faces when they realized that my boss was an attorney...now that was truly "priceless" to me! ;)
"Um, because they said in the video clip that they were actors..."
I'm not talking about the actual clip. I'm talking about real life experiences that people go through which are similar to this clip - being followed in a store for no reason other then your appearance. These things DO happen in reality, my dear. Open your eyes.
The clip doesn't surprise me at all. It's rare anyone sticks up for black women in dehumanizing situations.
When I was a teenager, I once saw this black woman being assualted by two security guards, which then spilled out of Macys. They claimed she had merchandise on her and stripped her breasts bare in the middle of 34th street. There was a crowd that collected around these people, but no one did anything to help this woman. There was no apology offered to her when they didn't find whatever they claimed she stole. All I saw was tears and big floppy breasts. It was truly sad. My biggest regret is that I didn't step in to help her. I was young, and I made the mistake of thinking it was an isolated incident. Ever since, I've seen similar incidents and I do step to make sure a black woman's dignity isn't compromised.
If the saleslady profiled a black male suspect instead folks would question her tactics, openly. This kind of injustice is associated with males for some reason. We don't even discuss racism and how it affects black women.
And it's for this reason I don't give my money up to fuel retailers who would discriminate against me. I'm proudly cheap, even before the recession made it so.
On the natural hair/dressing down thing...why do those corny makeover shows feature natural hair as the BEFORE, and relaxed hair as the AFTER?
Maybe because white producers are putting the segments together. Then again it might be the designated token hired to perform those duties and uphold the values of news team. I just question the type of black producer who would do this kind of work.
Yawn. If you can't find real racism, stage fake racism and then get outraged when white people don't get offended enough.
Or when they say that black folks when dealing with racist situations are using the "black card" like the white guy in the video did.
The fact of the matter is that racism exists, and it is people like you who perpetuate it, just because people aren't getting lynched and we can all go to the same school, it doesn't mean racism no longer exists.
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On the natural hair/dressing down thing...why do those corny makeover shows feature natural hair as the BEFORE, and relaxed hair as the AFTER?
OMG, I so hate that. It is like natural is ugly and sleek and straight is pretty.
Amazing, this happen in NYC, and surprise...surprise the white folks did nothing!
This post might be long.
First and foremost, funny how most of those who are excusing this are 'anonymous' commenters.
This is mostly a race issue. The first black woman subject was dresses in an 'upscale' manner. Secondly, a white woman dressed in the so-called 'downscale' manner of the 2nd black woman would most probably not have gotten that treatment.
I thought this was supposed to be some sort of 'post-racial' America? Most of those who stood up against it were foreigners (if you exclude the British ones). I'm not one bit surprised that the Brits reacted similar to how the Americans did. Its a very similar society.
AS for people being moe upset about gay-bashing/homophobia than they are about racism, well, it doesn't really come as a surprise to me. I've encountered a lot of racists online and when some of them are talking about the 'revolution' and how when it happens, they will kick all non-whites out of America, there is usually an argument about whether gays should be allowed to stay or leave. Also, the reaction after the whole prop 8 fiasco with the race-baiting and racism was a tell-tale sign. At the end of the day, the face of gay men in America is white. That is what people therefore idenify with it.
Lastly, black people in general really need to learn to vote with their money. I would NEVER spend my hard-earned money in a shop that I knew treated people like this. If these shop owners knew that this is the mass-reaction they would get, don't you think they would be pressed to stop? For example (I'm taking it on a tangent here), I'm always hearing black people complaining about the racist treatment they get when they go into Asian-owned stores. Some of these stores cater primarily to blacks (be it hair products or being in a majority-black community) yet I've seen some black people who would be treated like sh*t and have racist things said to them by the shop owners yet would still be willing to hand their money over. If black people don't demand their respect, why exactly would they respect black people?
Also, I thought New York was supposed to be a liberal place? Proof that liberal DOES NOT EQUAL non-racist!
FoxyCleopatra, I agree with you that there are many liberals out there who are just as racist as the neocons but how do you know that those people, including the guy who said "She probably pulled the race card" comment are all liberals? Yes, New York is a liberal state but it is FILLED with tourists from out of state especially around Soho which is where this clip was shown.
NYC is extremely racist. It's populated with ambitious gentrifyers who come from red-states with that red-state-attitude. If you tell them what they've done is racist, they will say "this is not the south", as if racism only collects there. Seems they believe their region exempts them from treating others like crap.
"Or when they say that black folks when dealing with racist situations are using the "black card" like the white guy in the video did."
The guy had no idea was on camera, and was just discussing the situation with the very angry white actress. People in general are afraid of confrontation, and will say whatever is needed to keep a situation amicable. For all the man knows, this woman is a repeat offender or a well known criminal. Instead of allowing him to give the store employee the benefit of the doubt, you demonize him for not immediately assuming that the woman was asked to leave out of sheer racism. Feel free to look up any study of peoples' acceptance of authority, and consider that in this situation, the store employee is in a position of authority.
"The fact of the matter is that racism exists, and it is people like you who perpetuate it"
Sure it does, but to create such an atypical, shocking scene and then act outraged when white people don't get completely indignant is just a form of sensationalist entrapment. As a previous poster said, "commercial racism" is much more subtle than it is depicted here. You can tell by the video that the shoppers are unnerved, but it is completely natural and expected for them to avoid the conflict. That's why this "expose" is so disingenuous. They act as if the white patrons are "racist" because they didn't stand up for an unknown minority patron, even though there is a great deal of evidence that most people wouldn't so much as call the police about a murder no matter the victim's race, age, or sex.
"I would NEVER spend my hard-earned money in a shop that I knew treated people like this"
But are you capable of distinguishing between subtle racism and what is depicted here in this sensationalist news piece? It seems like most of the commenters here have (consciously or unconsciously) accepted that this kind of racism is common in upscale boutiques.
The inconvenient truth is that most of these boutiques could stay in business even if they turned blacks away at the door. There really isn't that much of a financial imperative for them to make blacks comfortable and encourage their patronage. Making black patrons look like a lawsuit-waiting-to-happen will make them even less accepting in this regard.
I was so moved by the woman who was in tears from the encounter (she was the one holding onto her boyfriend). That's how I tend to respond to situations like this (whether it involves race or gender or whatever) and sometimes I feel overly emotional and crazy because others are just walking by. I was sitting on my sofa crying WITH this woman.
The cracker idiot who said that she pulled a race card is a racist/sexist pig who's mad that Barack Obama is in the office and that we have a beautiful Black First Lady. White people can't stand the fact that Michelle Obama is their First Lady, so they make snide remarks about her publicly and privately.
Thank goodness there are some Blacks and a few white women who were sympathetic to the lady's plight. To heck with angry white males, they don't care about Black women at all.
I was so happy when finally some people spoke up and the women started crying because it shows that we have some people who have moved past this segregated America.
This was very painful to watch, mainly because I've experienced racism while shopping myself. Of course its never as blatant as the clip portrays and I've noticed a few of the posters comment that the piece was "staged" and "lame". Perhaps it was but I remember that a few years ago another ABC program (I believe it was 20/20) did an undercover investigation into this same issue. In this case the participants wore hidden cameras and the stores were not aware of the filming. What they found was really no different. The cameras caught salespeople and security guards following the black shoppers around and being generally rude and hostile. The most troubling thing was that a lot of the sales and security people were themselves black and the program made the observation that this was the result of the store management knowing and taking advantage of the type of suspicion they know blacks feel toward each other. It was a very powerful piece. Unfortunately this experiment proves that nothing has changed.
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