Anne-Marie G. Harris
excerpted from: Anne-Marie G. Harris, Shopping
While Black: Applying 42 U.s.c. § 1981 to Cases of Consumer Racial
Profiling, 23 Boston College Third World Law Journal 1 - 55 (Winter,
2003) (261 Footnotes omitted)
In July 1999, Mr. and Ms. Pilson, both African Americans, visited the
Suwanee, Georgia Cracker Barrel with four friends. Once they were
seated, they waited approximately forty-five minutes for service, at
which point Mr. Pilson complained to the manager. While waiting, they
noticed that white customers who had arrived after them were already
being served their meals. After Mr. Pilson complained, a white server,
Sandy, came to their table and took the party's food and drink orders.
The Pilsons and their friends waited an additional forty-five minutes
for their food to arrive. After they received their food, Mr. Pilson
asked Sandy for more napkins. In response, without speaking, Sandy threw
the napkins onto their table. Shortly thereafter, Sandy walked by the
Pilsons' table with a tray of water and dropped a glass, soaking Mrs.
Pilson and one of her friends. She said nothing and kept walking.
Was this poor treatment aimed at the Pilsons because they are black?
White Americans are largely unaware of their privileged status in the
marketplace. Most of the time, white consumers can run errands, shop,
dine out, and take in a show with the expectation of at least minimally
appropriate service in the establishments where they spend their money.
However, African- American consumers' patronage and money are somehow
regarded as less valuable than that of the white consumer.
In fact, "shopping while black" involves some of the same
risks associated with the better-known phenomenon of "driving while
black." Shoppers of color are viewed
with suspicion and, as a result, they are more likely to be watched,
followed, harassed, and even denied service in the course of their daily
roles as consumers.
The issue of racial profiling in retail stores gained national
attention during the 1990s following two ABC television broadcasts
("True Colors" on PrimeTime
Live and an ABC News 20/20 investigative report)
and some highly-publicized lawsuits involving well-known establishments
such as Eddie Bauer, Dillard's Department
Stores, and Denny's Restaurants.
Consumer Racial Profiling (CRP) is
defined as any type of differential treatment of consumers in the
marketplace based on race or ethnicity
that constitutes a denial or degradation in the product or service
offered to the consumer. In a retail
environment, CRP can take many forms, ranging from overt or outright
confrontation to very subtle differences in treatment, often manifested
in forms of harassment. Outright
confrontation includes verbal attacks, such as shouting racial epithets,
and physical attacks, such as removing customers from the store.
Customer harassment includes slow or rude service, required pre-
payment, surveillance, searches of belongings,
and neglect, such as refusing to serve African-American customers.
This Article examines the phenomenon of Consumer Racial Profiling
through a detailed case study of recent litigation against Cracker
Barrel Old Country Stores. Part I discusses the prevalence of CRP and
discusses some of its causes and consequences. Part II briefly reviews
various laws, including § 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, that
may provide redress to CRP plaintiffs, like the Pilsons. Part III
considers a probable judicial approach to plaintiffs' claims against
Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores under § 1981 of the Civil Rights Act
of 1866. The Article concludes that a narrow construction of the statute
is inconsistent with § 1981's plain language and inimical to its goals.
Rather, a broad interpretation of the statute, one that prohibits racial
harassment, must be adopted to achieve equality in the market-place.
. Assistant Professor, Management
Department, School of Business, Salem State College, Salem,
Massachusetts. B.A., George Washington University, 1987; J.D., George
Washington University Law School, 1990.
. This scenario reflects a situation
encountered by Brenda and Clifton Pilson, two of the named plaintiffs in
a recently filed lawsuit against Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores, Inc.
See Amended Complaint ¶¶ 121-128, NAACP v. Cracker Barrel Old Country
Store, Inc., No. 4:01-CV-325-HLM (N.D. Ga. filed Apr. 11, 2002). The
Federal District Court has denied certification to the class of
plaintiffs. The plaintiffs are deciding whether to appeal the decision.