Let's Go Shopping! NOT

In the past week. we have had a bunch of incidents where Blacks have been denied the ability to purchase high end goods. The first incident was when a 19 year old Black engineering student who went to purchase a $350.00 belt at Barneys of New York. A second incident at the same store involved a 21 year old Black nursing student who wanted to purchase a $2500.00 purse at the same location. Then a third incident involving an actor who went to Macey's in order to purchase a $1350.00 watch for his mother. The first incident involved the 19 year old getting detained at the police station for 45 minutes and then he was released after the police were able to verify his ID. Later he ended up returning the belt and getting his money back. The second incident involving her making the transaction without incident, but she was later attacked and pinned up against the turnstile in the subway station three blocks away by four plain clothed cops. The third incident caused the actor to be automatically cuffed even after he told them to check his ID. He had several pieces of identification on him, but the officers insisted that his ID was fake. He was held for 45 minutes and then released without charges.

To shake things up, Jay Z happens to have a clothing line with Barneys.  In fact, he issued a statement regarding the incidents at the location.

I honestly don't know how to feel about Hova's statement.  On one hand, his clothing line helps Black kids get the chance to go to college. On the other hand, he's partners with a place that doesn't like 'his kind' shopping there. Again, I can't tell rich people how to spend their money, but why couldn't he house his clothing line in it's own building? Why doesn't he have his own storefront? Why did he partner with these guys?


On a separate note, over the years, I have switched to online shopping because of my own instances like these. One in particular stands out the most. It took place back in 2000 at a small Sam Goody location in the local mall. As soon as I came in, the clerk made sure to ask if she could help me. I knew exactly where I wanted to go, so I said no and proceeded to visit the section I wanted to browse. At the time, I was looking to purchase Common's "One Day It'll All Make Sense" album, as I had been looking EVERYWHERE for that album and I was hoping to scoop it up. As I was browsing, two little girls (one blonde, and one brunette) around the age of 8 and 9 came into the location. The blonde girl had a big black duffel bag. The attendant kept her eyes on me and it started to make me nervous, so I milled around in the other sections just to see what she was going to do.  In the process, I managed to see the two little girls attempt to steal a CD. The shelf they were hiding behind was kind of short, and thin, meaning they weren't really hiding all that well. On top of that I was able to get close enough to see them handling a Limp Bizkit CD. I could tell which album it was and everything. I kept trying to get closer in hopes the clerk could see them trying to steal it. She didn't say anything to the girls. I watched them make a clumsy attempt to take off the plastic security barrier off the album with little success.  I went to the desk and told the clerk about what I was seeing. Do you know this dumb bitch proceeded to question me about it?!  I told her that some little girls are in the store trying to steal a Limp Bizkit CD while she was watching me.  She had the nerve to ask me where they were. All I could think of was, "This store is small and her ignorant ass can't see where they were?! They were still making an attempt (a very poor one at that) to hide behind the shelf with a big ass duffel bag. I pointed at them, and said they were "right there".  I told her that instead of watching the Black person, she needs to be paying attention to ALL of her customers. I left the store empty handed while the girls were still in the store.

Now before you guys start judging me and calling me a snitch, I'm going to have to stop you right there and tell you to GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE WITH THAT BULLSHIT! Here's why:

I have told this story numerous times and I have said the following:

1. Why did I need to protect those girls? They don't give a damn about me, nor would they ever do so. Would you be willing to sacrifice yourself so some little girls could get away with stolen merchandise while unknowingly (or knowingly) using you as a decoy while there is no real gain for you?
2. What do I look like letting them take that CD and letting the clerk treat me any way she wants?   I could see it all unfold like this
   A. Lets say I stay in the store while the girls get away with the CD. They make their escape while I'm still in the store.  Chances are, they discard the plastic security thing around the CD they stole. The clerk confronts me about a missing CD, and produces the empty security mechanism. She calls her manager and the cops, and I try to tell them that I didn't steal the CD. They don't believe me, and I have to deal with getting searched, fingerprinted and booked for a damn CD that I didn't even steal.
  B. Lets say the kids get away with the CD, and I leave the store. The mall cops get called, and they follow me throughout the mall. More and more of them show up, and I get to enjoy being cornered by these guys plus a few actual cops and the clerk. EVERYBODY,their parents and babies get to see this mess unfold. Not only do I get embarrassed by everybody in the entire mall. The clerk gets to look all smug and righteous because "she caught one" and "knew it all along" as this ordeal unfolds.   She gets to crow about it, tell her friends, and maybe, just maybe get a promotion at the best case scenario. She gets to validate all of her racist bullshit that was probably passed down from several generations in her family, and stroke her ego, and everybody in the mall gets to do the same as well.  <<The fuck I look like!? Are they really serious!?

This kind of stuff has made me avoid stores all together for the most part. I have resorted to doing a lot of shopping online.  I don't even really like going to the grocery stores anymore in fear somebody will harass me. God forbid I actually want to purchase any food. I must not ever have any money because after all, all Blacks are lazy and don't have jobs. If I say I have a job, they have to ask where I work at and they expect me to tell them when I work, how much money I make and what's my job description, meanwhile they get offended if you ask them all of that information because according to 'them' if Blacks have money, they must be on welfare and are getting all kinds of benefits that Joe White Guy can't get because he was brave enough to work and pay taxes like a good American should.

I think it's long past the time for Blacks to stop patronizing these businesses that don't want us around. I think we should find all of the Black designers, and house any and all clothing brands started by Blacks and open up a bunch of Black owned locations. This way, if a Black person wants to buy a $350.00 belt or a $1300.00 watch or a $2500.00 purse, then it's Black money endorsing Black products and putting money in Black hands.

So far, I've found the following resources:

A Natural hair care product line for children with the option of setting up fundraisers
Facebook page with a lot of items of interest
Handmade hats for those with locs. They also have earrings
Lots of women's clothing. Some of the links are busted, but there are a lot of active ones to chose from.
Women's accessories

Don Lemon: Why Don't I Just Cut to the Chase and Tell You to Get The F*ck Outta Here With That Bullisht!!!!

If you haven't heard yet, Don Lemon, a news anchor for CNN decided to "go in" (depending on how you see it) on the problem with Black America. He said the usual stuff regarding sagging jeans, education and crime. He also said that Bill O'Reilly doesn't go far enough when he's talking about the so called crisis in the African American community. Needless to say it caused a lot of backlash and responses, one of which was a letter from Russell Simmons. He had to address Russell Simmons on the whole thing. He says to attack the problem and not the messenger, and then went in on sagging jeans, and how "saggin" spelled backwards spells n!ggas backwards (which has nothing at all to do with anything). He redeemed himself by thanking Russell Simmons for his letter. He also cut to the president speaking on the issue. Sure this video looks like a nice neat package of it's not us it's you and your fault why things are the way they are', but here's what I don't get.

Why doesn't Don Lemon attack those who control the images of black people being beamed into millions of homes around the world, those who profit from exploiting those images and those who reward people for living up to the stereotype starting with corporate America? Why doesn't he really talk about the real issue pertaining to Black on Black crime (which I mentioned earlier in this blog)? Why doesn't he talk about how many Whites are hooked on meth, the destruction of families the drug has caused and how it not only destroys the user's health but it harms children and anyone who resides in the house where the meth was smoked even if the drug was used several years ago by completely different tenants? Why not discuss the pharm parties and excessive use of various other drugs legal or otherwise? Why not address the tendency to over medicate children in order to substitute for decent parenting? Why doesn't he address the fact that White kids are running around with giant holes in their ears, many big colorful tattoos, and saggin pants as well? The holes can take a very long time to heal and can greatly jeopardize a person's ability to find gainful employment (unless they are a tattoo artist or they pierce people for a living);in some cases a surgical procedure may be needed to stitch up larger holes. The kid with the sagging jeans can at least take his off or put on a belt in order to fix his image. I don't think there's any chance in saving this guy though.

Just when I couldn't get any more pissed at Don Lemon for not really talking about the so called "Negro problem" , Michael Eric Dyson gets him, and humanity is restored.


But what if all Blacks really did what Don Lemon was talking about? What if we did exactly what the hippies did after the summer of love was over (don't front, all they did was cut their hair, take showers and go get jobs). Let's imagine that everybody went to college, got a good ass job, started a business, etc and started making serious money. What if all of the absentee fathers magically appeared to raise their families, and if applicable, any and all prison records were whisked away only to resemble that of the so called squeaky clean American citizen? Would we all turn out like this guy? For some reason, I beg to differ. Just ask Oprah and Michael Eric Dyson.


I'd like to see Don Lemon try to catch a cab in New York while wearing his suit. As clean as he is, I don't think the cabbies will be itching to have him as a customer.