Economic Racism--Discrimination Against Black Consumers

By
Julianne Malveaux

In a California branch of a major department store, a Black woman tried to return an item but was surprised to learn that store clerks had been instructed not to accept returns from Black people.

Some realtors routinely steer Black families away from housing in white neighborhoods.

Maybe you've had a similar experience--sales clerks, for example, who assume Black people can't afford certain merchandise or are much more likely to be shoplifters. In other cases the assumption is that Black homeowners aren't good neighbors or can't afford housing in expensive, predominantly white neighborhoods.

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