The guard stands at the bottom of the escalator in his trademark Smokey the Bear hat, wearing the dulled determination of one who does the unpleasant for a living.
Two young women descend from the upper floor. He asks for their IDs. They laugh anxiously, are-you-serious? expressions stamped on their faces. The guard just checked their IDs moments before, they tell him. But Smokey wants to see them again. There are rules, after all.
The scene is reminiscent of the old Soviet Union, where people were routinely asked for their travel papers. Yet this is 2007, Tower City mall, where the restrictions aren’t meant to defend Communism. They’re here to usher in the more brilliant colors of commerce.
In mall-speak, it’s called the Parental Involvement Program, which essentially bans children under 18 from shopping after 2:30 p.m. unless they’re accompanied by an adult. In practical terms, it might be better described as the We Gotta Get Rid of the Black Kids Program. And that’s where we begin today’s quandary.
When the mall was built, Cleveland was still referring to itself as the Comeback City. Owner Forest City no doubt imagined the grande dames of Pepper Pike strolling polished corridors, brimming with shopping bags and lunching at places where fish isn’t simply called “fish,” but “pan-seared red snapper with Dijon and rice-wine vinegar.”
Yet the company had gravely miscalculated. The artificial dot-com boom would see its inevitable crash. The 27,000 jobs predicted to rain from Gateway were as bogus as the consultant who foresaw them. And Forest City’s handpicked mayor, Mike White, was in the midst of his Reign of Looting, shaking down everything that moved and keeping legit businesspeople from the city.
Tower City became a monument not to the return of the grandames, but to an inverse form of welfare. Cleveland may have been hurtling toward poverty, but city and county were more concerned about insuring the failed bet of a $9.2 billion company. Politicians lavished the mall with $35 million for construction, $54 million to rehab its Rapid station, another $10 million for a tunnel to Gateway. But no amount of welfare could save it.
Then came the black kids.
Unexplained by science is the mysterious gravitational pull that draws kids to malls from Beachwood to North Olmsted. They come to mingle, strut, ogle, flirt, and occasionally buy things. These are the ways of the species. But Tower City is a major bus hub, making it more convenient to 14-year-olds from Hough than trophy wives from Hudson. So it became the City Kids’ Mall.
To the naked eye, it wouldn’t seem much of an issue. Police union chief Steve Loomis says the problems rarely rose to more than kids being kids. “I don’t know if they considered it a problem,” he says of his officers. “Some pushing and shoving. You know, that machismo-testosterone problem that goes on.” Lisa Kreiger, the mall’s general manager for retail, is a bit more elusive, citing “vulgar language, loitering — several situations such as that.” But she won’t provide details.
Unspoken was that the civil-rights movement had come full circle.
Where 40 years ago, blacks were afraid in crowds of whites, the opposite is true today. Repeated violence by a few black kids has colored the whole, the same way a few white rednecks earned a reputation for 1967 Birmingham. And while most people can judge the individual rather than the group — or maybe that’s wishful thinking — Tower City’s throngs of black kids were scaring away that most sacred shopper: the professional white woman.
She too is a mysterious creature, drawn to malls for entertainment, escape, and rejuvenation of the spirit. As a friend explains it, “Getting new shoes is kind of like getting a new boyfriend. It’s a little self-esteem boost. No one’s seen them yet, and you can’t wait to show them off.”
But that picture tends to dull when surrounded by loud gaggles of girls, boys dressed for pretend danger, and a soundtrack of noisy expletives.
It’s hard to blame the kids. Youth’s eternal search for cool — forever a gaudy, awkward crusade — is a requisite stage of life. But you can’t blame the white women either. It’s their money, their time, and they can spend it anywhere they please. For years, that place was somewhere other than Tower City.
Which left the mall with a difficult choice. There was no more welfare to be had. Its next great savior, a prospective convention center, is in the hands of the county commissioners, which is like hoping to get to Youngstown with a blind guy at the wheel.
So people like Kreiger had to choose between black kids (and slow economic strangulation) and the pursuit of white women. You know where this call landed.
Of course, no one’s actually calling it a ban on black kids. That would be impolite. Even activist Art McKoy, a ubiquitous presence at all things racially incendiary, sees the dilemma from both sides.
“There is a lot of stereotyping, and there is a lot of boog-a-bear mentality that something is gonna come out and grab you,” he says of white shoppers. “And then there are some realities that we definitely admit to, that some of our black youth need to be admonished when they are disturbing law-abiding shoppers and business people. We don’t wanna let nobody off the hook.”
But unless Tower City sits down to talk, McKoy promises a boycott this holiday season. He may not have the juice, however, to compete with the mall’s newfound prosperity.
Since the ban began, Kreiger has already received an “overwhelming response.” Business has increased, families are returning, and customers are e-mailing praise for the change in atmosphere. “We’re hearing that over and over and over again,” she says.
Being polite, after all, has never been essential to the laws of economics.
This article appears in Nov 28 – Dec 4, 2007.
“McCoy promises a boycott”? Hope he goes thru with it because then it really would be an improvement.
No kids under 18 after 2:30 – GENIUS!!!!!!!!! Kids huddled in groups without supervision, white-black-purple or green – are TROUBLE. It is their parents fault – parents should know where they are 24/7 and should be supervising them so that they do not have the time to make bad decisions. Keep them busy. Good job – kids should be at home studying instead of hanging in groups at the mall. Malls are for family and shopping PERIOD – Great job – I hope all of the malls follow suit. !!!!
I think the curfew is GREAT, they should have it at all malls. The very last thing I want to deal with when I am shopping is herds of roaming teenagers acting like the inconsiderate fools that far too many of them are raised to be. I think Tower City is correct in enacting the ban. Its not a racial issue. ITs a behavior issue. Bad behavior has consequences – this is one of them. Maybe the offended parents should use their time boycotting to closely examine what they can do to instill proper behavior in their offspring and teach them how to act correctly in public.
I am not quite sure you summed up your article with an on point summary: “Being polite, after all, has never been essential to the laws of economics.” While being socially responsible is not necessarily essential to the laws of economics, in the world of retail, being polite is essential to economic success.
NICE, The author decides to play the race card while behavior is the real issue. Lets add more devisive commentary to our printed news and let anybody do as they please in public without consequences.
Shoplifting and inventory shrinkage levels are now at an all-time low.
I have worked in a building connected to Tower City for 7 years. I ride the rapid so I am in the mall every single day. I understand what they are trying to accomplish here, but the mall brought this upon itself: for reasons still unclear to me, most of the retail stores that appeal to middle & upper class adults have moved out. In their places are stores targeting “urban youth”, the polite way of saying black kids. So in a sense, they’ve driven out their target market and attracted swarms of kids they are now trying to get rid of. I don’t think banning kids after 2:30pm is the answer. Personally I have not seen much of a difference since this policy was instituted.
If anyone was being kept out of the mall for being black then I would be completely against it. However kids who want to emulate the behavior of gangstas and thugs should know there is price for that behavior. Regular good people, black and white, don’t want to be around that and shouldn’t be forced to. It sounds like Tower City has done a good thing because, contrary to the racist autor, not only white women shop at Tower City and this is good for ALL shoppers.
Dear Mr. Pete, When was the last time you went shopping at Tower City? I’ve been going there religiously since I was kid. I recall being ther several times during the last few years and witnessing “gang” fights between very large groups of kids. I think your writing is very biased, and your journalism sucks!! Next time why don’t you provide some real data- hoodlums + beautiful shopping plaza= NO MONEY!!! Who in the hell wants to shop at a place with kids yelling and screaming at one another, walking around all day. I’m guessing you shop at beachwood mall. Would the residents stand for that? This has nothing to do with being racist. There is nothing good for these children at a mall. What about school activities or a boys and girls club? White or black, they do not belong at Tower City. It is journalist like you who tear this city apart. If you cared so much about racism, why don’t you do a story about rhe Boneyard in Mayfield.
This joint is solid, but panders to that white trash anthropological bent that has made you infamous. I would have liked to have seen a comparison with Randal Mall as a means to comment on the over-arching thesis: that black kids+mall= lost revenue. Good job, overall. Status quo.
Where did they say only blacks were kept out? And why only black kids??? Why not the adults too?
Worst. Journalism. Ever.
This isn’t about black and white, it’s about kids being jerks. I’ve been in and around Tower City for the full five years I’ve lived in Cleveland, and I’ve seen kids of many colors doing stupid stuff – and NONE of them are allowed to be in Tower City after 2:30 pm as a result. I applaud the program, though I don’t necessarily agree with the views of the author… sensationalism at its best. Yes, more black kids than white kids are affected by the program – there’s no argument there. But what about the intention? The program was created to facilitate economic development downtown, end of story – the rest is just an unfortunate result, and we don’t need irresponsible journalism making it into another culturally divisive race issue.
The saddest part of all this? That white kids are banned too, punished for black behavior.
If the “no kids” rule is being enforced selectively against the black kids, or if black adults are being given an equally rough time despite being adults, there’s a problem. However, I don’t see a huge issue with trying to reduce the number of large groups of kids wandering around Tower City. And it’s not because I’m afraid of them, it’s because if any of them are making things difficult for shoppers by being inconsiderate or obnoxious the way kids can sometimes be at that age on their own, they don’t belong there. Their parents SHOULD be watching them if they come in.
At the same time, I do think Tower City’s schizoid identity in terms of shopping offerings doesn’t help. They need to decide to whom they want to appeal and stick to that. If they’re going to have shops selling airbrushed T-shirts and gold-and-diamond grills for your teeth, guess what–they’re not going to attract a boatload of suburban women shoppers. Fact is, they’re probably not going to attract a boatload of suburban women shoppers no matter what they do. And if they think most of their stores are focused on the needs of downtown shoppers, they’re wrong there, too. Why don’t they put a REAL drugstore in the place, for instance? I can think of many downtown workers who would love to be able to go out on lunch hour and pick up a prescription, get some cold medication or buy a fresh pair of pantyhose without even having to go outside…yet the nearest CVS is far, far away.
Tower City should make up its mind what kind of shopping people most likely to visit or travel through it already want, then figure out how to redial itself to fit that market, and do so. Forget trying to draw in suburban matrons, and if you don’t want to attract the gangsta element either, then stop having kiosks and stores that sell gangsta trappings.
Your article reinforces reverse racism. No facts. Keep up the good work and we’ll all continue to not critically think and continue to hate. Keep the issues separate. Race or age? Pick a topic- any topic.
This sounds like a job for my partner CARL (monday) and I!! Please show you do not live in 1954. Please show that all people are created equally. Please show your support for those that try to be a voice for those that do not have one. E-mail those that care, tell us how you feel and what may have happened to you or someone you know. Your name will be confidential unless you want others to know.
White people scared of black people? Black kids out of control? Big surprise there. Its called America, everbody. We condone a bankrupt and immoral “urban” culture and then wonder why nodoby normal wants to go into the city.
It amazes me how people blatantly leave ignorant, racist remarks on threads such as these (blogs as well). Tower City is a failed project: point blank. To place “black kids” as the primary blame tends to be the typical stance that the average ‘non-black’ culturally insensitive individual chooses. Cleveland’s downtown area overall lacks upscale/designer shopping alternatives…a fact that has nothing to do with “black kids” and everything to do with the fact that the city as a whole is underdeveloped and far from progressive. As long as the attitude in this city remains as racist, segregation friendly, and one-dimensional as it now, Cleveland will always suffer as being one of the most non-attractive citys in this nation. Most of you who point the finger need to blame yourselves, how much do you embrace diversity? What is the make-up of your social circles? How aware and accepting are you of cultures and ideals that are different from your own? Please…evolve.