Shopping While Black

So, the other day, I learned a new phrase  - "Shopping While Black". I do love to learn but this one surely didn't bring sunshine to my morning. Of course, I (and most any other black person in America) know this phenomenon. The number one clue to its appearance is when store clerks magically appear out of the wood work with pinched faces and crossed arms waiting for the undesirables to steal a Dooney purse. Hardly inviting, eh? However, I was unware that the common racial incident had gotten a catchy name tag.

The inspiration for this post was watching ABC's 20/20 Shopping While Black - Social Experiment. Basically, the show took three actors, one black and two white, and set them up in a trendy Soho clothing store in New York. The white actors played a racist store clerk and security guard while the black actress played an abused shopper. As you can imagine, the experiment was to see how the actual shoppers in the store would react if they witnessed the "shopping while black" situation unfold before their very eyes.

The Negative News:
As I would have guessed, the vast majority of patrons said and did nothing. They went about their merry way shopping, chatting and giving an occasional awkward look over at the chaotic scene. Once out of the store and the show revealed itself, they could only offer the pathetic "it wasn't my business" excuse while still giving money to an abusive establishment (at least that was what they witnessed while in the store).

 In one segement, the store clerk actress draws a male customer into the conversation. She pulls him aside and engages him in a chat about the black woman. After which, he drops the "race card" bomb. Despite him actually witnessing the clerk being obviously discriminatory, the first thing to comes to his mind is that the black woman was in the wrong.

Not surprisingly, once he was in front of the unhidden cameras. He pretends that he felt sorry for the black actress. Perhaps, he is schizophrenic? Doubtful. I tend to think that what he uttered while he "thought" he was hidden was his true feelings not what he regurgitated to sound politically correct in full view of the public.

The Positive News:
Oh yes, there is a bright side! There were some people that actually took a stand in defense of the black shopper under siege. Not only did they show a black patron confronting the clerk, two white women came to her aid and actually escorted the perceived victim out of the store. The beautiful part was that other shoppers followed suit. Thankfully, the show cleared up the matter after the people got outside and saved the store many sales.

Also, I have to mention the one woman that was so upset by the interaction of the actors that she started crying. Like they had done previously, the actors attempted to draw in a nearby customer into the situation. Yet, this woman found the idea of racism so disturbing that she became highly emotional. It was truly endearing to see someone that actually cared so deeply about an issue that didn't effect her directly.

What Did I Learn:
So, I have to ask myself what does this tell me about American society as it stands today. On one hand, I expected that no one would care about the plight of this woman being humiliated and insulted in public simply because of the color of her skin. I mean apathy is a national disease in general. "It's not my problem" should be the national slogan.

However, it warmed my spirit to see those that did take a stand for what was right. They didn't sit by and pretend that it wasn't happening while rewarding the store with their purchases. I was left with the feeling that there is still some hope for humanity.

Don't get me wrong. I don't think that the vast majority of people that did nothing are racist. But, by keeping silent and continuing to shop, they enable racism and discrimination in all its forms. As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it."

Further Discussion: SLUniverse Foums