Videos capturing everyday indignities and injury toward Black or Brown consumers have become media staples, showing the complexity, risk, and traumas many shoppers encounter in retail, restaurants, and other marketplaces. But each one quickly fades in the media spotlight. In Retail Racism, Michelle Dunlap helps readers understand the ongoing experiences of ordinary Black and Brown people as they navigate this reality. Based on 19 in-depth interviews with consumers across the country, Dunlap aims to create a larger discussion that engages readers and empowers them to interrupt, disrupt, and ameliorate the inappropriate and racialized handling of consumers in America today. In doing so, Retail Racism is about not only shopping, but also humane living in America, including surviving and making sense of inequitable experiences, what to do about them, and the larger issues and contexts that surround the marketplace for Black and Brown people. A portion of the author proceeds from book sales are automatically donated to The Florida Education Fund (FEF), a non-profit organization established in 1984 to help provide opportunities for educational advancement.
Michelle Dunlap, Ph.D., is an educator, diversity consultant, and speaker. She was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. She is Emeritus Professor of Human Development, Connecticut College, having taught there for 28 years, 1994-2022. She is author or co-editor of 50 journal articles, books, chapters, and essays on the topics of cultural competency; racial identity development; provider engagement with children and families; service learning and community engagement; and adolescent and early adulthood development. She has been invited to travel throughout the United States and to Europe to present her work. She has won local, state, and national awards for her community-engaged work, and has consulted for corporations, universities, schools, social service and community agencies, and healthcare providers.
TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION PREFACE (INTRODUCTION) PART 1: MONITORING Poem 1: Alfreda Recalls Marshall Fields, by Tara Betts (INTRODUCTION) MISPERCEIVED: "Oh Reverend, I'm So Sorry" (Alton's story) MISTRUSTED: "So I'm a Suspect, and It Makes Me Feel Terrible" (Balbira's story) MORTIFIED: "My Sense of Gravity Knows Where Your Center of Gravity Is" (Chad's story) MANAGED: "Fried Chicken!" (Dana's story) MISTOOK: "I Was Hoping to Live Long Enough to See Major Changes on Earth" (Eleanor's story) Monitoring: Things that Part 1's Monitoring Can Teach Consumers and Marketers Monitoring: Reflection Questions & Related Readings PART 2: INEQUITIES Poem 2: Internal Dialogue, by Micah E. Lubensky Poem 3: "Two Friends", by Lisa Mallory (INTRODUCTION) INDICTED: "It's Not For Sale" (Graham's story) INTIMIDATED: "It's Really Painful for a Kid" (Janisha's story) INSULTED: "Every Kind Of Cracker That Nabisco Makes" (Tamir's story) INVALIDATED: "I Am The Minority, The 'Foreigner'" (Hart's story) Inequities: Things that Part 2's Inequities Can Teach Consumers and Marketers Inequities: Reflection Questions & Related Readings PART 3: TRAUMAS Poem 4: #IfIWasGunnedDown, by Malik S. Champlain Poem 5: Brown Girl Shopping, byArakcelis Gomez (INTRODUCTION) TARGETED: "The Book of Robbers, Scammers, and Fraudulents" (Finley's story) TRAUMATIZED: "Wouldn't You Want to Hear My Story if You're Ready to Shoot Me?" (Kenrec's story) TERRIFIED: "This Is What You Put Me Through as a Mother-- as a Black Mother and Her Son-- in This Community." (Latasha's story) TRIGGERED: "My DNA Remembers, Even if My Conscious Mind Doesn't", by Michelle R. Dunlap TORMENTED: "I Lifted My Sweater Just Enough for Them To See I Had Stolen Nothing" (Priscilla's story) Trauma: Things that Part 3's Traumas Can Teach Consumers and Marketers Traumas: Reflection Questions & Related Readings PART 4: PHILOSOPHIES Poem 6: The Invisible Pause, by Denise M. Keyes Poem 7: Whitney in the Purple Dress, by Michelle Dunlap (INTRODUCTION) PLAGUED: "It's a Wonder Black People Live to Fifty" (Rekia's story) PRECONCEIVED: "[I'm] the Bull's-Eye!" (Stephon's story) PRIVILEGED: "Just Because I'm White Doesn't Mean It Does Not Matter" (Heather's story) PERTURBED: "I Am No Fan of Insurance Companies, Pure and Simple" (Vernon's story) PROVOKED: "I Try To Go To Stores That Cause The Least Stress" (Yvette's story) Philosophies: Things that Part 4's Philosophies Can Teach Consumers and Marketers Philosophies: Reflection Questions & Related Readings CONCLUSION Poem 8: Shopping While Black, by Frances Shani Parker Poem 9: In Her Image, by Kenneth E. Watts NOTES REFERENCE LIST ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR
