Page 140 - Purchasing Power Black Kids and American Consumer Culture

Anthropologist on Shopping Sprees . 125

going purchases in order to keep them going. The continuing effective-
ness of his choice—walkie-talkies as a medium of social connection—
was also predicated on his continuing ability to consume. Children and
adults of all classes are increasingly faced with the dilemma that social
participation requires greater and greater levels of consumption, whether
of food, services, merchandise, or images. For children who are not only
poor or working class, but also racial minorities, this dilemma has espe-
cially devastating consequences. Pervasive media images and popular be-
liefs portraying the consumer engagement of these kids as fundamentally
violent and out of control, fueled by greed and drugs, are among the
most destructive of these consequences not only because they have a
well-demonstrated power to skew perceptions as well as public policy,
but also because, like all forms of racist discourse, they are a dehumaniz-
ing force.

Shaquita
When I went to pick her up for her shopping trip, Shaquita emerged
from her house lurching like a ten-year-old Quasimodo: her small
cousin had grabbed hold of her leg and attached herself to it with a tod-
dler's grim determination. Shaquita had to trick the little girl into going
back into the house, then lunged out the door, quickly shutting it behind
her as the child's wails rose in pitch and volume behind it. We could hear
the little girl's shrieks as we crossed the street, and even as we drove
away.
The dedication that Shaquita's cousin showed her was not unusual.
In her classroom Shaquita was known for her sensitivity and generosity
to others and could always be counted on as the one who would com-
fort or stand by another kid in a crisis. Shaquita's father had been living
in California "since I was a little baby," and though he called and sent
her cards sometimes, she did not see him. She lived with her older sister
and younger brother in her maternal grandparents' home and had been
there for about five years, since the time her mother had entered the
Army. Out of the Army now, Shaquita's mother lived across town in a
city housing project, and the children visited her regularly. "My mother
wanted us back," she said, "but my grandmother asked if we could stay
there and help her." Her grandmother, a domestic worker, had just re-
ceived her General Equivalency Diploma that year and the family was
still celebrating her achievement. Deeply connected to an extensive kin-
ship network, Shaquita was particularly close to her godmother, who
took her on trips "down South," and who often bought her new clothes