Marianne
Diamond Member
A national variety-store chain has started an internal investigation after learning that some St. Louis-area locations are asking customers not to wear hooded clothing.
The request — outlined on signs that have been posted at some Family Dollar stores in the area — drew the attention of the St. Louis CBS affiliate KMOV, which reported that at least two criminal incidents have occurred at local stores in recent weeks.
“They want people’s faces to be seen by the cameras,” St. Louis resident Kusloshiai Webb told KMOV. “And sometimes when you have on a hood, it might block your facial view.”
Another customer, however, took issue with the decision.
“I would call it discrimination. That’s not right,” Roger Williams said, according to KMOV. “It shouldn’t matter that you’re going in there with your hood on. If you’re not stealing, and you’re buying, purchasing something, what’s the problem? That shouldn’t be an issue.”
(It should be noted that the signs aren’t posted at every St. Louis-area Family Dollar location, KMOV reported.)
The 2012 shooting death of an unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin put the spotlight on people’s perceptions of hooded sweatshirts.
Moments before fatally shooting Martin, neighborhood watch violunteer George Zimmerman told a 911 operator that Martin was wearing “a dark hoodie, like a gray hoodie” and seemed “real suspicious.”
As The Post noted that year:
Out of tragedy, the utilitarian hooded sweatshirt, which first gained popularity in the 1930s as a practical pullover for workingmen, has emerged as a Rorschach test of racial perceptions.
Several weeks after Martin’s death, some preachers and their congregations attended services wearing hoodies. NBA star LeBron James tweeted a photo of the Miami Heat wearing hoodies, with their heads bowed.
And, The Post noted:
Geraldo Rivera ignited widespread criticism for saying on the “Fox & Friends” morning show that “The hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was.” He continued his assault on “The O’Reilly Factor,” warning parents of black and Hispanic youths not to allow their sons to wear hooded sweatshirts.
“Who else wears hoodies?” he asked. “Everybody that ever stuck up a convenience store; D.B. Cooper, the guy that hijacked a plane; Ted Kaczynski the Unabomber.”
Bryn R. Winburn, media relations manager for North Carolina-based Family Dollar, told KMOV that it was “not Company policy to ask our customers to remove hoods or sweatshirts before entering our stores.”
“We certainly appreciate you bringing this to our attention, and we are looking into the matter internally,” Family Dollar’s corporate office said, according to a post on KMOV’s Facebook page.
Reports KMOV:
Managers at the South Grand and South Jefferson locations of Family Dollar would not comment on why or when the ban went into place.
The Family Dollar at 2700 S. Grand removed the sign from their door Tuesday night.
An e-mail from The Post to Family Dollar was not immediately returned Wednesday.
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Family Dollar investigates after St. Louis-area stores post ban on hoods - The Washington Post
The request — outlined on signs that have been posted at some Family Dollar stores in the area — drew the attention of the St. Louis CBS affiliate KMOV, which reported that at least two criminal incidents have occurred at local stores in recent weeks.
“They want people’s faces to be seen by the cameras,” St. Louis resident Kusloshiai Webb told KMOV. “And sometimes when you have on a hood, it might block your facial view.”
Another customer, however, took issue with the decision.
“I would call it discrimination. That’s not right,” Roger Williams said, according to KMOV. “It shouldn’t matter that you’re going in there with your hood on. If you’re not stealing, and you’re buying, purchasing something, what’s the problem? That shouldn’t be an issue.”
(It should be noted that the signs aren’t posted at every St. Louis-area Family Dollar location, KMOV reported.)
The 2012 shooting death of an unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin put the spotlight on people’s perceptions of hooded sweatshirts.
Moments before fatally shooting Martin, neighborhood watch violunteer George Zimmerman told a 911 operator that Martin was wearing “a dark hoodie, like a gray hoodie” and seemed “real suspicious.”
As The Post noted that year:
Out of tragedy, the utilitarian hooded sweatshirt, which first gained popularity in the 1930s as a practical pullover for workingmen, has emerged as a Rorschach test of racial perceptions.
Several weeks after Martin’s death, some preachers and their congregations attended services wearing hoodies. NBA star LeBron James tweeted a photo of the Miami Heat wearing hoodies, with their heads bowed.
And, The Post noted:
Geraldo Rivera ignited widespread criticism for saying on the “Fox & Friends” morning show that “The hoodie is as much responsible for Trayvon Martin’s death as George Zimmerman was.” He continued his assault on “The O’Reilly Factor,” warning parents of black and Hispanic youths not to allow their sons to wear hooded sweatshirts.
“Who else wears hoodies?” he asked. “Everybody that ever stuck up a convenience store; D.B. Cooper, the guy that hijacked a plane; Ted Kaczynski the Unabomber.”
Bryn R. Winburn, media relations manager for North Carolina-based Family Dollar, told KMOV that it was “not Company policy to ask our customers to remove hoods or sweatshirts before entering our stores.”
“We certainly appreciate you bringing this to our attention, and we are looking into the matter internally,” Family Dollar’s corporate office said, according to a post on KMOV’s Facebook page.
Reports KMOV:
Managers at the South Grand and South Jefferson locations of Family Dollar would not comment on why or when the ban went into place.
The Family Dollar at 2700 S. Grand removed the sign from their door Tuesday night.
An e-mail from The Post to Family Dollar was not immediately returned Wednesday.
Video | News | Weather | SportsFamily Dollar investigates after St. Louis-area stores post ban on hoods - The Washington Post
