Citi Trends: Keepin' it Real Ghetto

Citi Trends: Keepin' it Real Ghetto



Let me say from the jump off. I like Citi Trends clothing store. Where else can you get a fresh new outfit, a black history book and jam to the hits of the '80's all for under $25? And the staff are real cool people, always smiling and real friendly, like a black version of Mayberry.

But I ain't feelin' their security system.

When you walk up to the store, the first thing you notice is two warning signs about surveillance. Now if that isn't enough to make you do an about face and head to the nearest Wal Mart, as soon as you walk through the doors you're greeted by a boomin' sound system that warns you that your activities are being monitored. (I guess, this is for the benefit of those who were illiterate and couldn't read the signs, outside.)

When Citi Trends first opened up, they use to have Officer Friendly posted at the front door eyeballin' you when you tried on the $3 baseball in the hat bin. But now Barney Fife has been replaced by a high tech ghetto security system.

The first time that I heard the system, I thought that I was going to have to empty my pockets and assume the position.


I know that people do steal and I guess some measure of security is necessary but check this out.

Citi Trends prides itself on being "fashion for less" and caters to the hip, Hip Hop crowd. They offer trendy, name brand clothes that would cost an arm and a leg at the mall for swap meet prices. Also, most of their clientele, at least in this area, seem to be black and Latino youth. (I can't remember seeing any white kids in there, not even the Eminem clones that listen to Lil Wayne on their Ipods.)

So am I saying that their customer demographic has anything to do with the extra security precautions? When is the last time that you had to pass through metal detectors at the Gap or Old Navy ?

I rest my case.

Also, this is a discount store, for goodness sakes! Robbin' Citi Trends is like swipin' stuff from the Goodwill.

Maybe, I am a little overly sensitive. But like many black folks, I remember being followed around toy stores as a child and record stores as a teenager. Even today, when I sport my baseball cap and hoody, I still, once in a while, notice that one of the clerks just happens to be looking for the latest Dead Prez CD at the same time that I am.

I can't help to think what the average black teen who comes into Citi Trends thinks when he hears the security alarm blastin' in his ears? Maybe he just ignores it or maybe it makes him feel like a no good low life who will always be perceived as a criminal. Even in a discount store.

Maybe I am over reacting and taking this thing too far...

But until they start putting guard dogs in front of Aeropostal...

Citi Trends needs to chill !


Paul Scott's blog is http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com/. He can be reached at info@nowarningshotsfired.com (919) 451-8283

Prelude to a Race War

Prelude to a Race War

Min. Paul Scott

Durham may have its problems but the one thing that we really don't have to worry about is being shot because of the color of our skin.

The color of our baseball caps, maybe. But not the color of skin.

Not yet anyway...

For the last few weeks, the Durham Herald Sun has been on overdrive promoting the idea that black folks are targeting Latinos for robbery because of race.

While anyone, with any knowledge of Durham's history or a fair amount of plain old common sense, would immediately write this off as hogwash, as it is said, if you tell a lie long enough....

First, it is problematic to insinuate that black people can be "racist."

To quote writer Neely Fuller, author of "The United Independent Compensatory Code/System/Concept,"

"The only form of functional racism that exists anywhere in the known universe is white supremacy."

To suggest that African Americans have the social, economic or political ability to be "racist" is just evidence of those who have the power to define reality though their media organs to spread false propaganda.

In recent weeks, the Durham Herald Sun has published two articles in which members of the Latino community have been quoted as saying that they are being targeted for robbery because of "racism" via "blacks."

In the 1/22 issue under the caption "Hispanics fear rash of crimes is racism: String of robberies committed mostly by black men", it was reported by Dan Way (metro editor of the Herald Sun) that several Hispanic Durham residents were raising the question whether the 30 robberies of against Hispanics during the first two weeks of January were "racist hate crimes."

A few weeks later in an article written, again, by Dan Way, a Mexican woman is quoted as saying,

"The problem in this neighborhood is with the blacks."

Also a "Honduran national" is quoted as saying,

"The "gringo's" don't bother you The Hispanics don't bother you. It's the blacks."

He later says that while his sandwich truck serves black customers, both attempts to break into his vehicle were by black men.

The article ends with the quote,

"How are we going to defend ourselves ? We don't have any help."

http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-922593.cfm

Now, there are several things that are very problematic about these two articles.

The first being that both of these articles were not written by some college intern or some kid fresh out of journalism school. These articles were written by the metro editor of the Herald Sun who should know better than to spread these accusations.

Secondly, the terms being used. As stated earlier "racism" would not be the proper term here nor would "hate crimes." When you use these terms you are alleging that those black men who are robbing Latinos are doing it strictly to deny Latinos of their rights. You also assume that these thieves only rob Latinos and have no prior histories robbing any other race, including other African Americans.

The term "gringo" is also used. In the article there is no attempt to define the Spanish term "gringo." Even, when researching the word via other sources the term is hard to define. Taken out of the context of the story, one can assume that the interviewee is using the the term to differentiate European Americans from African Americans, which is disturbing in and of itself. Since most English speaking people, including African Americans, do not use the term "gringo" it can be rightly stated that the article was only meant for a community that understands the lingo or code word.

Also, one cannot help but notice that no African Americans were interviewed in either article to refute the charges of racism. It must be noted that the way the stories are written, it is not a condemnation of a few black thieves but an indictment of the entire black community.

Not only does the Herald Sun's coverage defy logic, the assertion of black racism against Latinos goes against studies such as the one started a few years ago by Duke professor Paula McClain.

In her study "Racial Distancing in a Southern City: Latino Immigrants Views of African Americans" it is said that Latinos have a more negative view of blacks than blacks have of Latinos. According to news reports her study said that 59% of Latino immigrants felt that few or almost no blacks are hard working, one third said that blacks are hard to get along with and 57% said that few or no blacks could be trusted."

http://www.diversityinc.com/public/2967.cfm

Yet, this local study by a local professor was not used in either Herald Sun story.

One must, of course, question the motives for promoting brown on black violence.

A strong argument could be made that Durham is experiencing a strong surge in gentrification. What better way to rid the community of "undesirables" than to have them kill each other off. The out of town business developers could then come in and buy what is left of the neighborhoods dirt cheap and put up high dollar developments. Also, there has been a lot of attention in the national media lately over the political divide between African Americans and Latinos.

This is not the first time that a local newspaper has been accused of inciting violence against African Americans. Josephus Daniels, former owner of the News and Observer has been accused of using the paper to encourage violence against African Americans and he was, also, accused of helping to incite the Wilmington Race Riots of 1898.

http://www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/1898-wrrc/report/report.htm

It could also be argued that the Herald Sun played a major role in the popularization of local street gangs because of the extensive coverage which it has given the issue over the last decade.

http://www.heraldsun.com/hottopics/topicpage.cfm?topicID=21

Durham does not have a major brown on black race problem yet, that is still a problem that plagues West Coast cities such as Los Angeles. One cannot help but wonder what role the LA media played in promoting the tensions and if the same could happen in Durham, NC.

Columnists like the LA Time's Gregory Rodriguez bemoaned the media's exploitation on the black vs brown conflict. His 10/7 column, "The Fantasy of LA's Race War " ends with the chilling words:

"I can't help thinking that there is some sort of wish fulfillment in the black-versus-brown fixation."

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-rodriguez1oct01,0,1767378.column

The Durham community must rise up and stop the spread of this false propaganda before it escalates into a conflict that will neither benefit the black nor Latino community.

We must heed the words of the late great Malcolm X when he said :

"The press is so powerful in its image-making role, it can make a criminal look like he’s the victim and make the victim look like he’s the criminal…. If you aren’t careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”

Min. Paul Scott's blog is http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com/ He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 info@nowarningshotsfired.com

Black Racism???

For the second time in less than a month, the Durham Herald Sun is promoting the idea that black people are robbing Latinos because of "racism."

Now, I'm gonna say this one mo' time for people who are a little slow....

Black folks, cannot be racist!!!

Bigots, yes...

Prejudiced, yes...

But racists, heck to tha naw!!!

Racism means that you have the ability to deprive someone of their rights to Life, Liberty and all that other stuff that black folks have never had... We do not, collectively, have the economic-political power to deny "nobody nuthin'."

We, as a community, should be concerned that the Herald Sun is quoting members of the Latino community as saying that black racists are targetting them for crimes.

I doubt if the Spanish equivilant of that word "racism" has the same connotations that it has as the way the word is used in America with her history of lynchings, discrimination, etc

So, I can see the reporter rollin' up on Pedro Gomez....

"So, I hear you folks are being targeted by the neg...I mean, colore..I mean African Americans..."

"Que?"

"You know the black people..."

"Oh, si, el negros !!!"

"So would you say that they are dispoportionately targeting people of the mexi..., I mean, Hispanic persuation because of your economic vulnerability, based on color? "

"Que ?"

"I mean, they are being racist right ?...'

"Um, si ???"

It is dangerous that the Heald Sun is promoting this in the community..I guess they must be runnin' out of good Crip and Blood stories...

Shouldn't the city council, human relations commission, boys in the barbershop or somebody be addressing this issue before it gets outta hand ?

So far, Durham has been spared the Black and Brown tensions of, say, Los Angeles...

But give the Herald Sun a few more weeks to hype this misinformation...

To borrow from that great Hip Hop philosopher, Jay Z....

"Black folk's got 99 problems but a Mexican ain't one."

Yet, anyway....

Min. Paul Scott's blog is http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com/ (919) 451-8283

"Ms Goetz" Gets a Gun: Is The Brave One Racist?

“Ms. Goetz” Gets a Gun:
The Brave One and Black Male Bashin’

Min. Paul Scott



Peep this scenario. Timid lookin’ white lady sittin’ alone on a dark NY subway when all of a sudden two black dudes who look like they just stepped out of a 50 Cent video come all the way from the back of the train and pull a knife on her for no apparent reason. Little do they know that they are about to go heads up with the psycho chick from hell...

What I have just described is the trailer from the new movie, “The Brave One” which opens in theaters September 14th. The plot of the film, as I understand it from the previews, is Erica Bain (played by Jodi Foster) and her fiance are out walking “Sluggo” when some bad dudes kill the man and kidnap the dog, which drives Foster’s character over the edge and she transform herself into...drum roll please ... “Bad News ” Bain, hardcore vigilante and defender of the defenseless...Dum Dum Dum!!!

“It was one thing to kill my man but when you mess with the dog...Prepare to meet your maker, buster !”

What bothers me about the film is not the plot per se, after all anyone who has the nerve to shoot someone’s significant other and kidnap the pooch deserves a beatdown. But what gets my goat is the not so subtle racial overtones in the previews.

A trailer is supposed to be a lightening quick, 60 second synopsis of a two hour movie so the flash that I got from the Brave One preview was black thugs, Latino gangs and loud creepy music. Now if I missed the scene with drunk, white college frat boys chasing Jodie Foster through a keg party armed with Super Soakers, blame it on bad lighting.

Another case of anti-black male propaganda by Hollywood.

While this is nothing new, what is never discussed is the socio-political ramification of black male bashing in the media.

Have you ever wondered why after all the ill stuff that has happened to black people over the centuries that you rarely see a black vigilante movie striking back at white folks? This is because the movie makers know, full well, the power they posses to shape public opinion. So don’t ever expect to see a movie about one day when Rosa Parks gets tired of being told to sit in the back of the bus , she starts blastin’ fools with her pistol.

The film industry has a history of portraying black men as violent beasts dating as far back as 1915 with DW Griffith’s “Birth of a Nation” which featured a blood thirsty former slave named Gus who had a taste for white women. The movie was used as a Ku Klux Klan recruiting tool and a high number of lynchings were also recorded after the film’s release.

During the early 70's it can be suggested that Richard Nixon’s “get tough on crime” policy was not hampered by the blaxploitation movies of the era that portrayed black men as hustlers, dope fiends and pimps.

Moving into the 90's, how much of a role did movies like “Menace to Society” have in the development of stricter drug laws and anti-gang legislation disproportionately effecting young black men?

Politically speaking, did movies like 1993's “Falling Down” and it’s portrayal of the angry white man taking back his country help rally the troops for the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress in a post LA Rebellion America that was becoming increasing “multi-cultural?”

Many of us will never admit to how much we are effected by the stereotypical images we see on the big screen and how these images effect our judgement, especially when we are forced to make split second life or death decisions.

When Bernard Goetz put holes in some black teens on a NY subway or Soon Ja Du murdered 15 year old Latasha Harlins in a Korean grocery store in LA, were they reacting to real threats or imagined threats based largely on media images?

Either way, as a result of their very real actions one black teen lay paralyzed and the other dead.

Call me a modern day Don Quixote chasing windmills at every turn thinking that they are racist dragons but as Thomas Jefferson once said, “The price of Freedom is eternal vigilance.”

So, sometimes does that mean making a mountain out of a molehill?

Perhaps.

But what if there was a movie about an evil slum lord and the first man shown in the preview just happened to be wearing a yarmulke ?

Or if the next release by Warner Brothers was a flick about child molesters with a cameo appearance by “Father Flanagan ?.”

Would Jews and Catholics be wrong to be a little miffed?

Only black folks have to write a doctoral thesis defending why they are P.O. ‘d; other cultures’ concerns are taken at face value.

If it wasn’t for the fact that black males make up a disproportionate number of inmates in American prisons and at this very moment six young men in Jena Louisiana are facing long prison sentences, I probably wouldn’t bother bringing up this issue.

But these are the facts and fighting against the negative stereotypes of black men has become my raison d’etre.

You know , they say a picture is worth a thousand words, but to a young black man facing prison, a movie picture is worth a 20 year bid.

Min. Paul Scott is a writer and activist in Durham NC. His blog is http://www.nowarningshotsfired.com He can be reached at (919) 451-8283 info@nowarningshotsfired.com