Retailers and restaurants across the U.S. close their doors amid protests - The Washington Post

Similar scenes of destruction have created chaos and concern along the path of the nation’s protests over the death of a black man in police custody in Minneapolis.

Country on edge after a weekend of protests against police brutality.

Walmart on Sunday closed several hundred stores because of potential protests.

Amazon said it had adjusted routes or scaled back delivery operations in some cities, while Apple closed an unspecified number of stores on Sunday.

Target said it temporarily closed six stores in California, Minnesota, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

But the violence during protests of police brutality has also prompted many affected businesses to speak out in support of the cause.

On Broadway in New York’s SoHo neighborhood, retail stores including North Face and Journeys were looted, storefront windows smashed through by skateboards or heavy objects.

The theft of T-shirts, computers and food appears to run counter to the message from demonstrators who have filled streets in cities and towns from coast to coast following the death of George Floyd, some professors who study the topic said.

But, said UCLA historian Robin Kelley, “every single rebellion and uprising has included it.”.

Looting is often the result of normally law-abiding people taking advantage of a chaotic moment, especially when they are suffering economically, Kelley said.

Louis riots, when white people killed and stormed the homes of black residents — stealing rugs and lamps, Kelley said.

Now, during the covid-19 pandemic and with 40 million people having filed for unemployment, “I was shocked there wasn’t more looting,” Kelley said of the current protests!

“Many of these protests, at least those motivated by the killing of George Floyd, should be understood as black people’s refusal to stand by while their brothers and sisters are murdered by the state,” he said.

Ayers, the Oakland business owner who is African American, said she didn’t believe the people protesting Floyd’s death were the ones who damaged her store, which depicts an African-American woman on its front window!

Most businesses will be able to rely on insurance for much of the damage, said Forrester retail analyst Sucharita Kodali.

Fewer people are shopping in stores right now, so lost sales are less problematic in a way.

The impact will be less ruinous for big companies that were damaged such as Apple and Target, retail analyst Saunders pointed out, because they can afford to repair and close stores for a while.

The weekend’s actions were reminiscent of the Los Angeles Rodney King protests in 1992, said Darnell Hunt, dean of social sciences at UCLA.

The protests are not just a critique of police brutality, Hunt said, though that is the main issue at play.

Kelley, the historian, lives just a few blocks from where several stores were looted in the Grove shopping center in Los Angeles, including an Apple store.

“It was heartbreaking,” Brown said.

“But this moment is not about us.” Brown said she wants her customers to stay focused on the intense suffering sweeping the country instead of the damage done to her restaurant, which she says will recover in time.

George Floyd’s death at the hands of a police officer triggered protest in Minneapolis and other cities in the U.S