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Over two years ago, Citigroup released a report with an estimated price tag on how much the United States economy lost due to discrimination against Black Americans: a staggering $16 trillion since 2000. That’s $16,000,000,000,000. The report says that if the U.S. acted to reverse discriminatory practices against Black people, our economy would see a 5 trillion dollar increase over five years. To arrive at this estimate, Citigroup examined four key areas:
I was reminded of this study over the weekend and wondered how much more our economy is impacted by another facet of anti-Black racism: missed sales due to companies’ failure to provide service as places of public accommodation. What might this look like?
Why was I reminded? And why was I thinking about the report as it relates to business and public accommodation? These thoughts were triggered by an unpleasant experience over the weekend shopping for furniture in the Hollywood District of Portland, Oregon. Just before 5:00 p.m. on a Saturday, my significant other and I (both Black) entered a showroom of a well-known furniture store with locations across the United States. We were looking for a new living room couch, a bench for the foyer, and a few other pieces for our living space.
As we walked in, the employees at the customer service counter looked up and made eye contact with us, then glanced away. No one greeted us, no one asked us what we were looking for, and no one cheerfully told us to “let me know if you have any questions.” The silent treatment was not an oversight due to a sudden deluge of customers. In fact, the store was empty except for another couple, who were white presenting. They were cheerfully assisted by one of the store’s employees. We walked through the main floor’s large expanse, discussing the various sectionals and chairs—even sitting on a few. It was clear we were shopping—yet no one approached us. After walking through the first floor, we decided to explore the bottom floor and headed downstairs. We perused the inventory in the basement, where they had a variety of clearance and “as-is” items, and again, no one approached us. At this point, I thought: “Oh, is this what we gonna do today?” I was absolutely livid—and curious about how far this would go. Would someone reluctantly come to help us, or would the employees stay at the “customer service” counter chatting amongst themselves? We walked up the stairs from the basement to the main floor, then onto the third floor of the showroom. On our way upstairs, we passed the white presenting couple and the employee assisting them as they headed down to the main floor. Our tentative smiles were met with silence by the employee. She did not bother to say hello, nor offer to send someone up to assist. After walking around the third floor and returning to the main showroom floor, we spent a final—and intentional—8 to 10 minutes waiting to see if one of the five employees in the store would even greet us at this point, let alone ask if we needed assistance or were looking for something in particular. We walked out of that store at 5:36 p.m. after spending approximately 40 minutes intentionally ignored and disregarded as potential customers looking to do business.
Initially, I was so upset and angry by the encounter with the store’s employees (or lack thereof) that I had to sit in the car and wait for my hands to stop shaking before I could drive away. But then, I began thinking about the corruption and cultural psychosis of racism and discrimination. Five employees would rather ignore me and my significant other than secure the bag. Based on the review of a job posting for a vacancy in that very store within the last two months: full-time sales associates receive an “hourly base-pay commission.” The job posting claims their “sales associates are passionate about connecting with customers, providing meaningful solutions, and developing a network of highly satisfied customers.” And finally, in the description of job duties, the successful candidate would (in relevant part):
However, none of these skills and abilities were demonstrated. It is utterly fascinating that these employees were so willing to perpetuate anti-Black racism and further systems of oppression—even with a tangible cost to themselves, given the “commission-based sales environment.” Their actions upheld white supremacy culture—even at their own expense—by selecting whom to assist from the premise that whiteness intrinsically has value while Blackness is valueless. It reminded me of a quote by Tema Okun:
“While white supremacy culture affects us all, harms us all, and is toxic to us all, it does not affect, harm, and violate us in the same way. White supremacy targets and violates BIPOC people and communities with the intent to destroy them directly; white supremacy targets and violates white people with a persistent invitation to collude that will inevitably destroy their humanity.”
And although my reflections were triggered by an incident of anti-Black racism and discrimination on a Saturday afternoon, it is vital to remember that these employees’ behavior is not isolated to them, the store, the company, or even the industry. While it’s tempting to write these employees off as horrible people and sales associates (I mean, how are you in sales but don’t even attempt to make a sale?!), I invite you to consider “yes… and.” Yes, these employees should be held accountable for their discriminatory behavior and failure to “provide excellent and wholehearted customer service with a positive and knowledgeable approach,” and it is also crucial that we actively interrupt racism and reject white supremacy culture and the systems that perpetuate it.
Education, accountability, and systems transformation. This work is a marathon, not a sprint… and I invite you on this journey.
