Some 18 years ago, when Walmart was entering the Chicago market, I was at the forefront of the business crowd to advocate for them to enter Chicago urban market. At that time, I was the President of ABLE (Alliance of Business Leaders & Entrepreneurs), a Black business organization representing multiple business sectors. Some members had significant business with Walmart then, from IT to advertising. So it was in our collective best interest to support Walmart.
Mayor Daley requested that we become involved because many Walmart sites were scheduled in the Black community. We were also led to believe that business opportunities would present themselves. We held many meetings with Walmart’s top brass. I hosted a luncheon with Andrew Young, Walmart execs, and community leaders at my office. Wendell O’Neal, then Executive Director of ABLE, arranged meetings with Chicago’s top business organizations. We presented a united front and held a press conference with business leaders announcing our support for the new big box stores to enter Chicago. We met with ministers to explain why Walmart was a good idea in Chicago. The leading ministers were Reverend Charles Jenkins of Fellowship Baptist Church and Reverend James Meeks of House of Hope. We held meetings galore to make a case for Walmart and thought having a job at Walmart was better than not having one. One of the issues was the threat of small businesses going out of business, and Walmart gave space to many of those businesses within the new stores.
Margaret Garner
We worked collectively to bring Walmart to Chicago. There was protest and warnings about the big box store from Arkansas. Father Michael Pfleger and Rev. Jeremiah Wright protested Walmart, insisting they be a union shop. We pointed out that they paid more than most of their big box counterparts and that they promoted from within. The idea was that a stock boy could become a manager one day. Instead, Walmart encouraged promotion from within company ranks. Margaret Garner, a Black woman construction company, built the Walmart on the West Side. She was an ABLE member.
The Walmart Insult…
After Walmart got situated with its various stores in the Chicago area, mainly on the Southside, a Black media collective went to them for advertising. They met with us and decided to advertise with only the Chicago Crusader. The publisher is Dorothy Leavell. Mrs. Leavell refused to take their advertising because they would not advertise with all of the Black press. Her stock went to the ceiling in my book for such a move. I was agitated because I had been such a vocal advocate for them entering the Chicago market. Every time we met with Walmart over the years, there was a new group. The consistency of conversation was interesting because the new group still needed to recall from the old group. So at the very best, Walmart advertised with the Black press in February for Black History Month. I asked them once, aren’t you open all year round?
The business that ABLE members had was lost when they entered the Chicago market. We interacted more with Walmart outside the Chicago market than in the Chicago market. That was a most interesting position. E. Morris Communications was the ad agency. He lost the business, and Mayor Daley even wrote a letter to the President of Walmart on behalf of the members of ABLE business challenges.
Five Day Notice…
And so here we are now, with Walmart giving Chicago a 5-day notice that they will be closing their stores. They are losing money, and the shrinkage is high, causing the stores to be unprofitable. Well, now, Walmart. This sounds very much like a racist position. The stereotype is that when stores enter the Black market, theft prevails, and it is necessary to increase security; thus, prices must be higher, and merchandise must be locked up. You can’t tell me that white folk doesn’t have a shrinkage issue. Has anybody been down to North Michigan Avenue lately? Neiman Marcus has attack dogs at the entry door. So, why can’t big box stores not thrive in the Black community, yet Black shoppers are free-flowing with significant consumer dollars? Is there a special formula for having big box stores in Black communities?
Self Check Out Thieves…
Like many big box stores, Walmart has employed a new checkout system, it’s independent, and you swipe your goods and pay with cash or debit/credit card. It is an honor system that screams theft. So, here we are, with Walmart departing Chicago quickly in a hurry as a new mayor is about to take office. The new mayor, Mr. Brandon Johnson, is union oriented, as was Mayor Daley. Perhaps shrinkage is not the real problem, but the possibility of unionizing is the devil behind the scenes. The new mode of shopping online has hurt big box stores everywhere. Did you ever think Sears, Roebuck & Company would go out of business thanks to newcomer Amazon?
Chicago is shocked. Black elected officials were summoned to hear the news from Walmart executives to say they were leaving the market is alarming. Their absence will create food deserts. So, I guess the urban market experiment didn’t work for the hillbilly store.
Boycott and Goodbye!
We should say goodbye to Walmart and boycott them forever, given their insult. But, then, we should put on a large entrepreneur hat that says let’s roll up our sleeves and see the business opportunity at hand. It is not too hard or impossible to run grocery stores?
So, how about it? Let’s get the local Black farmers in Indiana and Michigan to come to Chicago with produce and grow their businesses. Perhaps Mariano’s and Jewel‘s can take the Walmart stores in partnership with Black entrepreneurs to get the stores up and running. Let’s use another business model. There was a time when there were multiple small stores in the Black community. You shopped at one store for meat, another for vegetables, maybe another for poultry, and another for staples.
Let’s look at small box stores as a model. We have empty stores in our community that are already set up. So let’s take advantage of an opportunity and bid Walmart farewell.
Sometimes a desert presents an opportunity. But, then, making lemonade from a sour lemon is up to us.
Damn Walmart!
