Tragedy Prompts Partnership in Kansas City December 31, 1999
News Feature
The death of an African-American man accused of shoplifting at an Osco Drugs store has sparked a unique agreement between the retailer and Project Neighborhood, a Kansas City substance abuse prevention coalition.Following the young shoplifter's death while in the custody of Osco's security personnel, the drugstore chain was anxious to dispel the notion that racism played any part in the tragedy, especially since the company's plans include opening a number of Osco locations in inner-city neighborhoods. Dave Sullivan, interim executive director of Project Neighborhood, said that Osco officials approached his group because of its reputation as a leader in the African-American community. "We had worked with them a little bit, but it snowballed after the incident," said Sullivan.
A Nov. 30 meeting between Osco and leaders from Kansas City's African-American community yielded a "Memorandum of Understanding" in which the company promised to:
- increase efforts to find and employ African-Americans in management positions
- participate in community job fairs
- advertise jobs in minority newspapers and other media outlets
- sponsor and participate in more charitable and community events in the African-American community
- assist African-American vendors in getting their goods sold through Osco stores
- ensure that all Osco employees are trained to be culturally sensitive and receive conflict-resolution training
- meet with community leaders on an ongoing basis to discuss African-American issues
- remove all external ads for alcoholic beverages from stores in Kansas City's urban core
Osco still faces a lawsuit filed by the victim's family, and Sullivan stressed that this agreement should not impact that case one way or the other. Having been approached by Osco, however, Project Neighborhood was determined to get as much good out of the discussions as it could for the local community. "It sounds mercenary, but sometimes you have to be," he said.Many of the points in the memo clearly relate to Osco's image in the African-American community. But despite the fact the their was a drug angle to the story of the shoplifter's death -- the victim was found to have cocaine in his system at the time of death -- the agreement about alcohol ads stands out from the rest. Sullivan acknowledges that Project Neighborhood simply seized upon the opportunity to press the issue with Osco. "Reducing alcohol ads always one of our stated goals, and we've worked on covenants in community," he said. "We wanted to get it on the table with Osco real fast."
In the end, said Sullivan, both sides got something out of the agreement. The memo garnered a lot of attention and provided some effective damage control for Osco, while the community was able to gain a new partner to address critical local issues. Plus, with members of the victim's family present at the signing of the memo, Sullivan said he felt like Project Neighborhood had some assurance that they supported the agreement even as the family's legal case against Osco moves forward.
Project Neighborhood: 816-842-8515.
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