Retailer’s seasonal display misses mark
Nothing says Black History Month like Beyoncé’s 2006 album “B’Day,” a DVD of “Creed II” and coffee cups adorned with black historical figures. Or at least that’s what Target in San Francisco’s Metreon shopping center would have you believe.
These items were scattered across a makeshift shelf adjacent to the store’s selfcheckout lines — you know, that dead area where people make impulse buys of candy and Us Weekly. The shelf was notably out of place, like a hastily organized garage sale.
Who exactly was the target audience of the display? Black people who had never met other black people? White shoppers? A distracted customer who realized they needed a coffee mug that came with a reminder of who George Washington Carver was?
Headscratching seasonal displays aren’t unusual sights at bigbox retailers. What gave me pause this time around was how little thought seemed to be given to the section. Given that San Francisco’s population is only 5% African American, I can’t help but think that profitability has usurped purpose when it comes to celebrating black history.
Other shelves had children’s books featuring black characters and a row of shirts with the names Malcolm, Harriet, Martin, Maya and Frederick. It took me about 10 minutes to thumb through it all. Not once did another customer join me in looking through what Target deemed its blackest offerings.
If Target clumsily tried to offload themed items loosely connected to black culture, the nearby Westfield Shopping Center just about skipped the effort altogether. That led me to look online for how other retailers would chase the black dollar. I discovered Macy’s in Union Square will have NFL legend Jerry Rice discuss on Feb. 22 “his career off the field, charitable work and his positive impact in the community,” according to its website. That’s something, I guess.
In the age of cancel culture, wherein a person or company is boycotted for sharing an unpopular opinion or executing some divisive action, appearing woke can be paramount. So perhaps Macy’s and Target are trying to do just that, saying, “See, we support black people, so you should support us.”
But here is where I have to be the bearer of bad news, San Francisco: Black History Month can include fun moments (a mug with a historic black person on it!), but it should also take on history on a more substantive way — and feature some discomfort for the white crowd.
Remember, Black History Month was established as a political act before the civil rights movement. In the early 1900s, black leaders recognized how African Americans weren’t included in the tale of American history. So historians Carter G. Woodson and Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915 to promote the study of black history.
Eleven years later they launched Negro History Week. They chose the second week of February because it included Frederick Douglass’ birthday on Feb. 14 and Abraham Lincoln’s birthday on Feb. 12. In 1976, President Gerald Ford made Black History Month a national observance. It’s now 2020, and we live in a time when the first president some people ever had the chance to put in office, myself included, was a black man. The world feels more progressive, especially in a liberal city like San Francisco. But these facts only increase the need to reflect this holiday accurately and with muchneeded nuance.
If Target were to give me a chance to help it honor Black History Month, I’d make a few changes to its product lineup. Get rid of “Creed II” —a good movie made by black director Ryan Coogler — and substitute Coogler’s “Fruitvale Station,” a poignant story about black life and police shootings.Add Spike Lee’s 1992 film “Malcolm X” starring Denzel Washington, or Ava DuVernay’s “Selma,” a portrait of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Replace the book selection with works by James Baldwin, Maya Angelou and, for the younger crowd, TaNehisi Coates. Let Beyoncé go — though her album “B’Day” is worth purchasing to this day — and give her space to folks like Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Eubie Blake. Bring in some black clothing designers who can give folks more than just a shirt with the word “LOVE” spelled with Africa as the “O.”Designer Rachel Konte has a boutique just across the Bay Bridge in Oakland called OwlNWood well worth mainstream love.
Such additions don’t have to be drastic. But caring a bit more about the month itself can go a long way. What’s left of the city’s black populace deserves that, at the very least.
I can’t help but think that profitability has usurped purpose when it comes to celebrating black history.