�Hood Stores� have got to go By: Booker T Hodges Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder Originally posted 11/12/2003
The type of illegal activities that I and my investigative team witnessed taking place at these �Hood Stores� was sub-human in my opinion. At one of the �Hood Stores� in North Minneapolis, I witnessed a young woman enter the store with one of her young children.
The woman, her child and one of the male store clerks went into a back room. The woman and her child left the room after about 10 minutes. When she returned, her hair was frizzed, and her top was out of place. On her way out, she grabbed a can of baby formula and a bag of diapers.
After she left the store, the clerk said to me and another clerk, �(Expletive) suck for some Simalac. I�ll take that every time.� I tried to run down the woman who couldn�t have been older than 20, but I was unsuccessful. I was angered not at the woman, but at the store owners. I told several patrons of the store what I had witnessed, and one of them told me that this sort of thing happens all the time.
In front of one of the �Hood Stores� in North Minneapolis, we noticed a large amount of young kids and juveniles hanging out in front of the store for extended periods of time. We witnessed multiple drug transactions during our observation.
�I wondered why would these business owners allow this type of activity to take place in front of their store,� says investigative team member Mike. What Mike witnessed next would answer all of his questions.
�I saw two crack heads walk into the store and talk to one of the clerks. The clerk then looked outside and nodded to one of the dealers in front of his store. The crack heads left the store went around the corner and returned with four boxes of what looked like canned goods.
�After the crack heads gave the clerk the boxes, one of the dealers shook hands with the crack head and exchanged what I assume to be drugs,� said Mike. This particular �Hood Store� owner was allowing the dealers to stand in front of his business in exchange for the dealers providing the crack heads with drugs, after they gave him what we assume to be stolen merchandize.
We searched long and hard, but we failed to locate one of these �Hood Stores� in an affluent metro community. The affluent communities won�t allow these individuals to open stores in their communities because of the type of business they promote. These stores provide no type of community service.
These stores are set up to exploit poor, under-privileged people. The owners of these stores are mostly from countries outside of the U.S., and as one �Hood Store� owner put it, �We are here to make money, and that�s it.�
These stores are allowed to plunder our community for one simple reason: we allow them to pillage and rape our community. Mike, a White member of the Booker T Investigative Team One asked a �Hood store� owner, �Why do you own a business in the middle of the ghetto where all these poor Black people live?�
The owner�s response was shocking, but true. He said, �Ni#$ers are my best customers. It doesn�t matter how I treat them, they still come back. In my country, the lower class of people at least had some type pride, but these ni#$ers are like pigs. Fat, lazy and just waiting for someone to feed them. They fail to appreciate the gift of being born in a country where you can get whatever you want as long as you work for it.�
We found that the majority of these �Hood Store� owners held negative attitudes towards Blacks and Asians. I will never shop at one of these Hood Stores ever again after doing this study.
I know that it is easy for me to say that, as I have transportation, whereas the majority of the patrons of these stores don�t. The solution to getting rid of these �Hood Stores� is simple. We as Blacks must own the corner stores in our community and start a selective buying campaign against the �Hood Stores� exploiting our community.
I hope everyone who reads this thinks about what these stores are doing to our community. I understand that they may be convienient, but are they worth the price we are paying?
If you are being abused or know someone who is being abused you can call the following numbers: Harriet Tubman Center 612-825-0000, Domestic Abuse Project 612-673-3526, Minnesota Domestic Abuse hotline 1-866-223-1111, National Domestic Abuse hotline 1-800-799-SAFE.
Booker T welcomes reader responses at bhodges@ spokesman-recorder.com or you can call the Spokesman at 612-827-4021 leave message
Booker T Hodges North side
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