When retail clerks are too helpful, are they racially profiling you?

I have read in the past about Black shoppers being followed by retail employees. I was miffed. However, since neither I nor anyone I knew in Lansing had been treated in this manner, I thought of the incidents as something that occurred “out there, somewhere far away.”

I was in for an awakening.

One day recently, I entered a store and was greeted by a smiling white clerk who said, “Can I help you?” I said, “I just want to look around.” I forgot about the worker as I slowly examined the merchandise. She did not leave the front of the store, but when I entered a different aisle, she said, “Can I help you?” Each time I changed aisles and drifted farther away her urgent voice followed me, “Can I help you?” The volume became increasingly louder. I did not respond.

The message was clear. It was: “Don’t try anything; I’m watching you.” I was irritated. I was tempted to leave the store. Instead, I decided to deliver my own message. I marched up to her. I gave her a stern look, and softly said, “I’d just like to look around.” Meekly she said, “Okay.” She remained silent as I took my time selecting purchases. I noticed that I was the only customer. I thought, “I know why. And I won’t be back in here either.”

I remembered the encounter when a friend said she was profiled in a store where I had shopped for a decade. The owners employed African Americans. I asked the friend to describe what happened. She said the owner always stood behind her while she examined items. “She wants to be near to help you,” I said. I used to take things off the shelf and go looking for her. One time she was in the office in the back of the store. Now when she sees me enter, she lingers nearby. When I told a male acquaintance about my friend’s fears, he said, “When you’re Black your antenna is always activated.” I thought, “yes, for a reason.”

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Another retailer put racial prejudice first. I thought, “Does this man want to earn money or not?” I was in a downtown store to purchase Black-themed Christmas cards. The older white man scowled when I said what I wanted. The Afrocentric cards were not up front with the other holiday merchandise. I followed him on a meandering route to an area in back. He was still in a foul mood when I paid. I felt like saying, “I have United States currency like everybody else. BTW, sir, Afrocentric greeting cards will not cause law enforcement to raid your store. Bring those Black cards out of their hiding place.”

It is sad that racism intrudes into all areas of life. The businessperson would rather lose money than be civil about the sale of an item for African Americans. Back in the day, a southern state shut down schools rather than desegregate. Think about what you lose when you put hate first.

Veronica Maria Brown-Comegys is a Lansing-based freelance writer.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Sadly, racism intrudes into all areas of life including shopping