A Wisconsin-based jewelry store is under fire after accusations of racial profiling from the Milwaukee Bucks’ John Henson surfaced on Monday. Henson, a 6ft 11in forward in his fourth year with the Bucks, reportedly approached the Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers with the intention to shop when the storeowners, apparently threatened by his presence, locked the doors, retreated to the back of the store, and contacted local law enforcement.
It was all chronicled in the 24-year-old’s Instagram post, which described the incident in detail. According to Henson, he was approached and eventually questioned by two officers outside the store who ran the license plates and conducted a background check before clearing his name.
There’s been an outpouring of support for Henson on social media, but, perhaps more importantly, the incident is cultivating important conversations online, again showcasing how sports have the ability to act as a platform for social change.
Here’s a full transcription of Henson’s Instagram post:
Went to @schwankekasten jewelry today in White-Fish Bay during regular business hours. They locked the door and told me to go away. After I rang the doorbell twice everyone went to the back. No answered the door or told me what was going on. This was followed by two police cars pulling up and parking across the street and watching me for 5 minutes (I assumed they were called by the store). I was then approached by 2 officers and questioned about the dealer vehicle I was in which is apart of my endorsement deal with Kunes country Chevrolet and asked me what I wanted amongst other things that were just irrelevant to me being there just trying to shop at the store like a normal paying customer would do.
I told them I was just trying to look at a watch. He then had to go in the back and tell them to come out it was safe but this is after they ran my plates and I overheard them talking about doing more of a background check on the car. The employees finally came out of the back and proceeded to conduct business like they previously were as we walked up. This was one of the the most degrading and racially prejudice things I’ve ever experienced in life and wouldn’t wish this on anyone. This store needs to be called out and that’s what I’m doing. You have no right to profile someone because of their race and nationality and this incident needs to be brought to light and I urge anyone who ever is thinking of shopping here reads this and doesn’t bring any business to this discriminatory place.
The store’s owner Tom Dixon was adamant it was nothing more than a mix-up. According to Dixon, Schwanke-Kasten has reportedly been robbed three times in the 18 months, and he also said that “the Whitefish Bay police department had informed local business owners to be on alert, and the employees’ actions were in response to the police department’s warning.” Dixon claimed the incident occurred not because of any racial profiling but because of Henson’s car: Dixon said that one of the vehicles involved in the previous robberies is from the same dealership as Henson’s vehicle. Dixon said when employees saw the vehicle with dealer plates; they became suspicious based on the previous robberies.
Dixon’s claims have largely been met with skepticism; most see the explanation as an attempt to save face, somewhat evidenced by the police’s explanation. According to the Whitefish Bay police department, even after Henson was cleared and allowed to shop, the store employee still requested that an officer stand by. The police refused the request and left promptly.
Press release from Whitefish Bay Police Department on John Henson incident at jewelry store: pic.twitter.com/c07thsADYf
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) October 20, 2015
Schwanke-Kasten has since made their Instagram page private, and they are currently being lambasted on Yelp in the wake of the incident. And while the backlash is expected, the situation itself seems more a manifestation of latent prejudices than a one-off.
Whitefish Bay is part of one of the most heavily segregated areas in America, and a lack of interaction with people of other races allows certain biases to fester.
While blatant racial bias is often hard to prove, the insidious subtle prejudices that pop up in our day-to-day life are there, and it’s likely what drove the storeowners to react. It seems the profiling of a 6ft 11in black man as a basketball player took a backseat to the profile of a large black man as a potential criminal.
The sheer transcendence of racial biases means that snap judgment on a person’s character can happen to at any time. No one is exempt, and no amount of money or fame can absolve someone from his or her “blackness.” That said, thankfully the incident didn’t develop into a more hostile situation. Maybeit can instead become a teachable moment.
Like the James Blake incident a few weeks back, these are issues that people of color deal with every day. While what happened to Henson was, as he put it, “degrading”, perhaps these events can expose the day-to-day struggles for many. Because when it happens to someone famous, it puts into perspective just how deep-rooted some of this country’s race issues really are.
Sports can, at least in some capacity, briefly transcend race. And in these incidents, it can become a conduit of sorts for broader understanding. If there is any good to come of this incident it lies in the eyes of NBA fans, particularly his white ones, who may be now be wondering: “Wow, this actually happened to John, of all people?”
