Did you ask patrons of the Hood Stores why they shop there? I'd be inclined to give poor people more credit than being prey for predatory corner grocers. Part II evoked a much more sympathetic response.
Regards, Jason Stone | Hale --- Booker Hodges <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > This is the first part of the Hood Stores story. I never posted this part > because I was duck hunting during the week it was published. > > Investigative team sniffs out �Hood Stores� > By: Booker T Hodges > Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder > Originally posted 10/17/2003 > > First of a two-part column > > Have you ever wondered what goes on in what I will call ''Hood Stores''? You > know, the corner stores located in areas where there is a high concentration > of poverty and all the things normally associated with poverty? These corner > stores are located all over the metro area. > The Booker T Investigative Team spent two months this summer monitoring what > goes on in these stores. Let me say that it isn�t pretty. These stores prey > on poor people, and until now no one has spoken up about it. I will discuss > the atmospheres, products, and customer services that my investigative team > witnessed at these Hood Stores. > The atmosphere of these stores is deplorable, to say the least. ''When I > walked inside the store, I noticed a stench that reeked of dead animals. > There were flies flying around and ants crawling on the floor,'' says > Investigative Team Member Ted after visiting a Hood Store in St. Paul. > When Ted asked the person behind the counter what the smell was coming from > and why there were so many bugs flying around the store, the person > responded by saying, ''Don�t worry about it. You buy something or leave > before I call the police.'' > Ted proceeded to purchase a pack of Black Label bacon for $6.57. When Ted > had taken the bacon home, he noticed that it had an expiration date that was > two weeks old. When he took the bacon back to the store, he was told that he > couldn�t return it. > ''The store had coolers that were only 55 degrees when they should have been > 40 degrees, and I assume that is what is causing the store to smell as bad > as it did � because the meat was spoiling. The store had poor lighting, > small aisles, and just looked grimy. This store was similar to most of the > Hood Stores I visited during this investigation,'' says Ted. > The products these store offer in many ways contribute to the crime in the > neighborhood. ''I found the product line of the Hood Stores in Minneapolis > to be in line with stores in Third World countries,'' says Mike, another > member of the investigative team. ''I have traveled to Mexico, Jamaica, and > Bosnia, and stores in those countries have product lines that are similar to > our Hood Stores.'' > Hood Stores sell products that you won�t find in normal or mainstream > stores. For example, every Hood Store we visited was guaranteed to have Zig > Zags, blunts, cannabis magazines, African American hair products, pre-paid > phone cards, cannabis pipes, small baggies (bags used to package a single > rock of cocaine), and high-priced baby food. But often these stores lacked > fresh vegetables/fruit, fresh fish, and fresh meat. > In several of the Hood Stores we were able to purchase single Zig Zag papers > for $.05, single cigarettes for $.25, and single blunt cigars for $.50. It > is illegal to sell these items individually, but who is going to report it? > The price of the products in these stores exceeded mainstream stores by an > average of 300 percent. In several of the stores we visited, some of the > products had two different price tags on them. ''One of the Hood Stores in > Minneapolis was selling baby clothes with Target price tags on them,'' says > Mike. ''When I asked why does this item have Target price tags on it, I was > told that they were purchased at wholesale from Target. When we checked with > Target, we were informed that Target doesn�t sell its merchandise wholesale > to anyone because Target has a very few select products that they themselves > make. We were also informed by Target that they don�t produce any baby > clothing themselves and purchase all their baby clothing from merchandisers. > So how did this store obtain these baby products? > We found customer service at these Hood Stores to be unsatisfactory at best. > The African American men members of our team were treated with the most > disrespect, whereas the African American females were treated with the most > respect. Often the Black male members of the team were followed around the > store and watched by store personnel. One shop even went as far as dialing > 911 and having the operator hold on the phone until one of the Black male > members left the store. > Half of the people working at these stores had no idea how much something > cost. In several of the stores we visited, the store clerk made up a price > on the spot. > > In part two of this column, I will talk about the illegal activity that we > witnessed taking place in these Hood Stores and profile the owners of these > stores. I will also look at the impact these stores have on poor > communities. > > 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 to [EMAIL PROTECTED], or you > can call the Spokesman at 612-827-4021 and leave a message. > > > > > Booker T Hodges > North side > > _________________________________________________________________ > Frustrated with dial-up? Get high-speed for as low as $26.95. > https://broadband.msn.com (Prices may vary by service area.) > > REMINDERS: > 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL > PROTECTED] before > continuing it on the list. > 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. > > For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html > For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract > ________________________________ > > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
