Cities 07

The documentation of the rise of bohemian culture in New York’s lower east side in the 1890’s by Christine Stansell describes the fascination of bourgeois youth in exploring and moving into lower-class neighborhoods of differing ethnicity. The effects of this culture upon the class and racial dynamics of American cities have been diverse and elaborate. Despite the mark bohemian culture has left upon Minneapolis neighborhoods such as Seward, the racial segregation that DuBois spoke of occurring over one hundred years ago can still be found today, albeit in the subtler forms of class division. To test this concept of racial segregation along class lines, I went to the two primary grocery stores on Franklin avenue, Seward Community Co-Op, and Aldi foods in the Phillips neighborhood. In comparing and contrasting these stores, I will attempt to demonstrate how despite the progressive ideology and embracing of multiculturalism that the Seward Co-Op strives for, the prices of their goods force most non-white non-bourgeois local residents to frequent other stores, one being Aldi, thereby maintaining the segregation along racial lines that DuBois describes.

I went to Seward Community Co-Op around 2:15 on Saturday the 24th to begin my observations. While walking in I noticed the mural painted on the wall of the building that depicts a panorama of differing landscapes that meld into each other, an attempt to promote the environmentally-friendly ideology of the co-op. I also noticed a higher than average number of bike racks lining the front of the store, another indicator of their support of eco-friendly transit. Upon entering the store I immediately smell the produce that occupies the first section of the store. As I walk throughout the store, the smells shift from place to place, but the whole store has a somewhat refreshing smell regardless of where you are. The store is fairly clean, not regarding the dirt and water tracked in from the falling snow outside, and everything seems to be well organized and in its place. The décor is fairly modern and slightly upscale, but not to the point of upsetting anyone’s green sensibilities. As I looked through the aisles, most of the products were above average in price, but that is likely due to the smaller manufacturers and the higher costs of local and organic foods. The store also had a salad bar, in-store baked goods, and hot and cold meals that were prepared in store as well. Approaching the registers, I notice they are fairly modern, with flat-panel screens that are aimed outward for both employee and customer to see. In terms of noticeable security I notice what appear to be two cameras, one near the exit, one above the customer service counter, although I wasn’t sure if they were cameras, nevertheless, a potential hint of panoptic influence. At the end of the counters there are also some shelves with various local newspapers and other left-leaning pamphlets and literature. I also notice a drop off site for recyclables. I go to sit in the small café area near the front, which has the same level of décor as the rest of the store, as well as full-length windows to look onto the street as well as allowing passerbys to look in as well, recalling Jane Jacobs’ concept of eyes on the street. The wall opposite the exit in the café area has a bulletin board with postings for various anti-war groups/protests, housing, local theatre and music, and other progressively minded bulletins.

Turning to the racial makeup of the staff, I notice that the majority of employees are white, except for two Somali women. The clientele follows suit, but not as drastically as that of the employees. In terms of age, the staff was predominately in their twenties and thirties, but the average customer seemed to be over thirty and many over fifty. Although somewhat difficult to determine given the type of customer a co-op attracts, the clothing of customers was fairly modest, but certainly not cheap clothing for the most part. As for the employees, all wore a green apron, but many wore it underneath their street clothes, allowing for a more casual atmosphere. The interaction between customers and employees was generally friendly, but in a mostly polite manner. The level of eye contact was moderate, employees were generally looking at the goods scanned or the screen, while customers looked at their goods and for their card or money. Every customer was asked if they were a member, the most noticeable routine phrase heard, and most conversations between customer and employee did not stray from the transaction at hand. I also noticed that the non-white customers always went to the female cashiers, however there were two females and one male, so that might have had something to do with it. The cashiers did talk to each other during downtimes, but their conversations seemed to focus on job-related topics. I stayed until 2:45 before heading over to Aldi.

I arrived at Aldi at about 2:50. Looking at the front of the store, there are no markings of individuality like at Seward Co-Op, just the corporate logo and a sign warning customers that if they take the carts out of the parking lot, the wheels will lock up, implying that Aldi assumes that patrons of their stores are more likely to want to steal their carts. In addition to this warning, the store locks up the carts, only to be released by inserting a quarter into the small coin slot on the cart, which will be returned once the cart is brought back. The number of bike racks is also significantly less, numbering about one-quarter of the racks at Seward Co-Op. Walking into the store, the differences are immediately clear to whom this store is catering. The space of the store consists of mostly bare walls, except for the signs on the walls or hanging from the ceiling that each have a different way of saying how much one saves by shopping here. There are no distinct smells of food like one could smell at the Co-Op, most likely because everything is pre-packaged. The variety of foods was also very limited, with the majority of products being Aldi-owned brands, causing the prices to very low, with most goods being below five dollars and hardly anything above ten. The presentation of goods also differed from the Co-Op in the sense that most of the products were on palettes and in the boxes that they most likely were shipped, with the perforated portions of the boxes removed. These palettes of goods were organized to create aisles, less shelving was used for presenting products. The height of the goods on the palettes was also lower, possibly in an attempt to make shoplifting more difficult because of greater visibility. Two of the walls contained the refrigerated or frozen goods. There were also two sets of large swinging doors, most likely used to wheel the palettes out onto the floor. As I was in the store I would hear an occasional loud buzzing/ringing, most likely coming from the back, which was initially jarring, but I got used to after the third or fourth time. In terms of cleanliness, the store is comparable to Seward Co-Op, but is not as well organized. There are products that are out of place, a package here and there that has been ripped open, and empty shelves that house random goods.

The racial demographic of the store was almost a complete reversal of Seward Co-Op, with the majority of customers being Somali, Black, or Hispanic. The average age was also lower, as well as there being more children and families present. Just like at the co-op, it is difficult to determine the class of customers solely by clothes, but the average quality of clothing did not exceed the customers of the co-op. The racial make up of the customers paralleled that of the employees as well, with all of the employees being black or Hispanic. The uniformity of the employees was a little more noticeable compared to the co-op, with all employees wearing blue aldi sweatshirts and jeans, still somewhat casual, but less room for individuality in terms of dress. As I approached the registers I noticed that the technology was noticeably older, and the display faced away from the customer. There were also no baggers present, while the co-op had two baggers for three registers. The security measures taken were also more overt, as evidenced with the presence of a security guard near the registers. There was also a two-way mirror at the wall to the right of the registers, exercising their own lower-tech brand of panopticism. Past the registers was a long gray counter where many customers finished sorting out their goods in bags before leaving. This counter was the only space past the registers available for the customers, there were no chairs, and at the far end were two torn up phonebooks and a pay phone. This lack of a space to sit and linger encouraged the customer to avoid loitering, which made my observation more difficult to do without becoming conspicuous. In terms of local newspapers or any other literature, the only reading provided were mainstream magazines on a small rack, nothing free to take, nor any bulletin board for postings of local groups or ads. Despite the environment being less conducive to conversation between customers for any extended period of time, the interaction between employees and customers was the same as at the co-op, mostly concerned with the transaction, but generally friendly and polite. The cashiers all sat with their backs to each other, which seemed to limit their ability to talk to each other, but they were also busier than the cashiers at the co-op, so that could have factored into why they did not interact to the same degree. My time spent in aldi was unfortunately half of what I spent at the co-op, partially due to the fact that there were no single drinks I could buy to feel less conspicuous, but also because of the surroundings that were not as conducive to observation.

In looking at both of these stores, it’s obvious which has been shaped by bohemian culture and which by corporate interests. Despite the promotion of a greater variety of foods from various cultures and supporting local farmers and suppliers, as well as creating an environment more open to interaction and involvement in the local community, the costs of this more inclusive method of business bring along with it a higher price tag, hence excluding many of the people who would benefit most from a more progressive ideology. As a result, many non-white customers are forced to go to stores that sell foods at much lower prices, which are generally supplied by corporate chain stores that strip away many of the luxuries a co-op provides to keep prices down. This racial division along predominately class lines shows that despite the higher number of bourgeois "bohemian" white residents in a Minneapolis neighborhood such as Seward, the amount of interaction they have in their day to day lives can still be limited by factors as simple as food. This paradoxical dynamic demonstrates how the bohemian model described by Stansell is problematized by the persistence of racial segregation that DuBois elucidated. While there are other spaces in the Seward and Phillips neighborhoods where than can be greater intermingling of class and race, these are spaces that are primarily for entertainment, not places one needs to frequent such as a grocery store.

Obviously this study is limited by leaving the two largest grocery stores in the area out of the equation, that being Rainbow and Cub Foods, as well as the much smaller markets that populate the surrounding area, such as United Noodle, and other specialty markets. Despite using two somewhat dramatic examples, comparing these two stores that are within about five blocks of each other makes the matter quite obvious how even within two adjoining neighborhoods there can be a great degree of racial and class division regardless of the politics of the residents.

Justin