Off The Rack & Offensive - Chris 'Preach' Smith

This past week in New York City, retail got repulsive.

Trayon Christian, a young Black man from Queens, made 
newspaper headlines and broadcasts for filing a discrimination
lawsuit against the popular fashion store Barneys New York
AND the NYPD. This lawsuit stems from an April 29th incident
where Christian was detained and handcuffed for two hours
by NYPD officers after purchasing a Ferragamo belt worth 
over 300 dollars. Those who arrested him were undercover
officers, who then allegedly asked Christian how he could 
afford to buy the belt despite the fact that he used a legit
debit card in his name and had proper identification. The day
after Christian’s story came to light, a young Black woman
from Brooklyn, Kayla Phillips also stepped forward with her
allegations against Barney’s. In her case, she purchased a
Celine’ bag worth $2,500. She was followed into the subway
station by NYPD undercover officers afterwards and detained,
with the officers asking how she could afford that bag. Again,
this despite the fact that she had a temporary but valid Bank
of America card. Once she produced ID and the new card 
she had gotten in the mail to them, they let her go. And if 
that wasn’t enough to turn your stomach, the actor Rob 
Brown of ‘Finding Forrester’ and ‘Treme’ fame, filed a lawsuit
against Macy’s for a June 8th incident in their flagship store
in Herald Square. He was cornered and detained by officers
after making a purchase at a Sunglass Hut store there using
the same card he had used previously to purchase a pricey
watch as a graduation gift from his mother. 

Of course, these stories have many outraged. But not all that
surprised. There’s no doubt many of you reading this have 
had stories of your own with store security following you 
because you’re Shopping While Brown/Black. But the fact
that these lawsuits are popping up this fast is troubling for
a couple of reasons. For one, it seems as if we’re experiencing
another racially influenced wave of turning back the clock.
Stores like Barney’s and Macy’s have always given off the
feeling that even if you may have the income to buy out
half the store, if your skin is dark, there will always be a 
dubious element to your purchasing power. That mindset
still lurks, although it is unspoken. That’s why it’s laughable
when I hear the CEO of Barney’s say it’s not ‘policy’ to 
do something like this. Bull. In both instances at the store,
a sales clerk HAD TO MAKE THE CALL to police. You wouldn’t
have that unless there was some sort of inference as to who
to look at. Now, are there those that shoplift and boost? 
Yes, there are. But to a degree, especially in the 1980’s and
early 90’s, it was a response to the discrimination of these
stores. Ralphie’s Kids can attest to that. Doesn’t mean it was
not a criminal act. But isn’t the inherent racial stereotyping
more criminal here? I’ve also seen brushback comments 
that ask where these folks are getting their money from. 
And that is false equivalence. When Winona Ryder got 
bagged boosting from a store, you didn’t have many asking
about her funds. You even had t-shirts being sold with ‘Free
Winona’ on it. And we know why. Another troubling question
is, why is the NYPD posting people in and around these stores
in significant numbers? Perhaps this is another element of 
the ‘stop and frisk’ campaign targeting people of color that 
had been struck down as unconstitutional by the courts.
And just another way that Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner
Ray Kelly have sought to fluff up crime prevention statistics
and make the tony elitists feel safe in an ‘improved’ NYC.

Amid all of this, hip-hop’s impact can be found. Young Trayon
wanted that Salvatore Ferragamo belt because he saw it 
being rocked by Dipset MC Juelz Santana. The wariness 
that store clerk had with Trayon may not have even 
been in effect if Juelz came to make that purchase. (Or 
the person who bought it for him - personal shoppers do
exist in hip-hop.) And of course, that leads us to Jay Z, who
has been assailed over this because of his upcoming clothing
line produced in conjunction with Barneys New York. Many
have called for him to divest from that partnership. I found
it interesting that the newspapers pivoted to Hova the day
after as a cover story. And Mr.Carter responded with a 
3 paragraph statement that came off not so much as 
tightrope walking, but awkwardly dodging mudpies. While
one can appreciate that he created this line for charitable
means, the statement got a bit cheapened when it spoke
about him being ‘demonized’. It leaves a bad taste in the 
mouth, especially when coupled with the overall ‘wait and
see’ tone of the statement. But I think that this is what 
one would have had to expect from Jay Z the businessman,
especially when the line is set to debut in a matter of days.
And truth be told, you have to have had an idea of his 
stance given his involvement with the Brooklyn Nets and
the Barclays Center. It doesn’t mean you can’t be a little
disappointed with it, and it also means little in the overall
picture.

What has to be noted here is that these lawsuits are a 
sign that the divisive mindset that allows for such racial
prejudice to exist with these stores’ view of Black and 
Brown shoppers has to be eradicated. We’ve had YEARS
of cases like this. Granted, there are stores and brands 
who have a zero tolerance policy towards this. But it 
doesn’t mean that these incidents won’t happen in different
places. We also have to eliminate that mindset from 
the people who work in these stores, of all colors. There
also needs to be more disclosure as to how these stores
and law enforcement communicate and operate in these
circumstances. Review who gets assigned to these details.
There also needs to be some tutelage to the youth as to
how some of these upscale stores and brands view you 
despite your dollars, as well as their financial power. To
Barney’s and Macy’s, this holiday season sees a risk in 
the desired color of green dropping due to how they’ve 
treated consumers who are Black and Brown.