Page 110 - Purchasing Power Black Kids and American Consumer Culture

Hemmed In and Shut Out . 95

raucous imitation of the stiff, uptight walk of the middle-class whites or
fearful Yale students.
In a city already starkly segregated in its residential areas, downtown
is now headed toward a similar segregation. The lower and upper areas
of Chapel Street house shopping areas that cater to those coming from
lower-income levels on the one hand and upper-income levels on the
other. The mall physically occupies the middle ground between the two,
and though perceived to be used by an ever-poorer and darker popula-
tion, people who go there remain relatively diverse in terms of both race
and socioeconomic level, especially when compared to the territories on
either side. As the physical and perceptual middle ground downtown, the
mall is a conflicted site. Many shopkeepers are caught between trying to
appeal to the customers they would like to have (middle class and white),
and not alienating the customers that they do have (young and of color).
Others have attempted to capitalize upon the mall's changing demo-
graphic mix and have opened stores carrying hip-hop fashions, African
folklore and artisanry, or Afrocentric merchandise.
Transformations in the local Newhallville business community have
made changes in downtown all the more important in terms of daily liv-
ing. It has not always been the case that Newhallville's commercial sector
contrasted so dramatically with that of downtown. In the 1950s, before
major employment and economic changes remade the community more
generally, Newhallville housed a wide variety of stores and businesses.
There were doctors' and dentists' offices, a hardware store, meat market,
pharmacy, grocery stores, a dry cleaner, popcorn supply house, florist,
lunch counters, beauty shops, barbers, bars, and liquor stores. Newhall-
ville during that time had a lively commercial sector that, while it did not
supply every need of the area, provided many essential goods and services
that are no longer locally available. In interviews I conducted with people
who had grown up in Newhallville in the late 1950s and early 1960s,
their recollections of the stores and businesses in the area generally
agreed that nearly twice as many commercial sites existed then as is cur-
rently the case. These businesses were significantly more varied than they
are today, where liquor stores, bars, and small groceries predominate.
The florist is perhaps the longest-standing local establishment, having
managed to stay in business in Newhallville for several decades. The over-
all trend has been the decimation of local commercial activity (table 4.1
summarizes businesses ca. 1960 and 1992). Much of the loss of local
business enterprise after the late 1950s is connected to the downsizing of
the nearby Winchester factory, and, as expected, those businesses that