Page 117 - Purchasing Power Black Kids and American Consumer Culture

102 . Hemmed In and Shut Out

It might appear at first that Bob's is a magnet for children because he
stocks the candy, chips, and drinks they buy so often. However, many
local businesses, such as barber shops, also sell candy and drinks. In ad-
dition, at other locations throughout the neighborhood, people sell com-
mercially produced or homemade treats from their homes, dispensing ice
cream and candy from their back doors or out their kitchen windows.
What makes Bob's different from local barbers or kitchen-window ice-
cream shops is that Bob's is a public meeting place for children or can be
a group destination for kids. And yet, one of the striking things about
children's visits to Bob's is their brevity; Bob does not allow kids to linger
either inside the store or on the sidewalk outside. It might seem that
Bob's tactics ought to discourage youthful patrons rather than encourag-
ing them to make their purchases in his store. Yet it is Bob's vigilance in
preventing people from hanging out around his store that is an impor-
tant factor in attracting younger children.
In comparison to other local markets, which are similarly stocked
and laid out, Bob differs most dramatically in the atmosphere right out-
side his door. The sidewalks in front of two other local groceries in
Newhallville are thronged daily by kids of junior high and high school
age, whether school is in session or not. Younger children know that
when they go to Bob's they will not have to navigate through a clump of
"big kids" who might tease or intimidate them. These other corners have
a reputation for being filled with kids who are involved in the illegal
drug trade at one level or another; one of these spots is a fairly well-
known drug pickup spot for those driving in from the suburbs. The
presence of older kids and teenagers, especially when there is actual or
potential drug trade in evidence, is threatening for younger children on a
number of fronts. The threat for younger children is real: Tarelle, who
lives across the street from one such corner, told me of being offered
money by older teenagers who were trying to enlist her in street busi-
ness, where children as young as eight can work as runners or lookouts.
Moreover, younger children seek to avoid these spots because they have
erupted periodically in violence. In the summer of 1992 a small riot
broke out in front of the store across from Tarelle's home, a confronta-
tion between teenagers and the police.
Local groceries like Bob's and B and K have a lively, intimate, almost
homey atmosphere. Kids are known by name by store proprietors who
not only sell them goods but keep them in line, give them advice, do
them favors, and even communicate with their parents about their be-
havior. The central communal role played by such stores is made vividly