In Baltimore, a tale of two department store experiences

I read and enjoyed the recent article about Hochschild Kohn when it was purchased by Warren Buffett as written by Jacques Kelly (“When Warren Buffett bought the unpretentious downtown Baltimore department store Hochschild Kohn in the 1960s,” May 13). I am glad to see that Kelly is still active as I’ve read his columns over the years. I currently live in retirement in North Carolina. However, I was born, grew up, received my education and spent a good portion of my career in Baltimore.

There is another side to this story that should be noted, however. Hochschild Kohn, like so many institutions at the time, engaged in the horrible practice of Jim Crow. As a small child (in the 1950s), I heard my mother and my aunts (her sisters) talking about their shopping trips to stores like Hochschild, Hecht’s, Stewart’s and Hutzlers. These were very stylish ladies.

However, while they could shop in those stores, they could not try on clothing or hats because of their skin color. They could not eat in the nice little restaurant there either. Moreover, there were no Black sales consultants employed to help customers. I bring this up because there are always two histories when these things are discussed.

I am 74 years old and Black, and do not play the race card. Nevertheless, we need to make sure that we consider the complete history. Today, radicals who push nonsense like critical race theory will latch onto things like this and use it to buttress their illogical positions. While embarrassing, we must find a creative means for acknowledging these these historical practices in a way that provides the complete story.

Like so many places, Baltimore’s past is often a Tale of Two Cities.