I am writing to detail my shopping experience at Grocery Outlet Market located at Oakdale Road in…read moreModesto, California on July 17, 2026. During my visit, an in-store employee engaged in conduct that is considered to be racially-motivated discrimination and harassment against me. This violation of my civil rights occurred in the personal care items section.
After I entered the store and headed left to walk towards the personal items section, a female store clerk was working in the immediate area. We greeted each other then I walked and turned right to the personal item aisle to pick up soap. Right afterwards, the clerk came over to me and - without provocation and out of the context of any standard retail customer service - began to discuss the consumption of alligator meat from Louisiana. During the conversation, the clerk deliberately made unsettling comments about the origin of the alligator, how she wondered what alligators taste like, that some people said it tastes like chicken, and stated that her husband had bought a skinned alligator and that they were going to consume it with friends. I told her that I have never eaten any alligators so I would not know what they taste like. She took out her cellphone and showed me a picture of the alligator that - according to her - was skinned except for its claws. I eventually told her to let me know what it's like and the conversation ended. I selected a pack of soap, left the area and went elsewhere to pick up a few more items to buy.
Given my identity as a Black female customer wearing an African-inspired scarf, these comments regarding a skinned animal from a Southern state, unprovoked and directed at me, served as an implicit and highly offensive reference to a deeply disturbing and racist historical trope from American history. Historically, the term "alligator bait" and horrific imagery of using Black children as bait were utilized against African Americans. While the clerk did not explicitly state the historical phrase "alligator bait," the confluence of her unprompted comments about the origins of the alligator, Louisiana, and the specific context of her knowing that I am a Black woman wearing an African-inspired scarf, constituted an egregious act of racial microaggression, implicit racial hatred, and the fostering of a highly offensive, hostile environment. In American history, the phrase "alligator bait" has been used as a derogatory racial slur and historically references abhorrent and insidious acts where Black babies were used to bait alligators. By intentionally singling me out as a Black customer wearing African-inspired attire to discuss this topic, the clerk engaged in targeted racial harassment. The juxtaposition of these topics directly targeted and weaponized deeply painful, historical racial trauma against me as a Black customer.
During the exchange, I kept very calm, maintained an oblivious demeanor for my own safety and comfort and navigated the conversation to defuse the situation, however, the employee's actions greatly angered and offended me, making me feel targeted and unwelcomed based on my race.
Any business must provide an environment free from discrimination and racial hostility. Unsolicited, racially charged remarks constitutes a hostile public accommodation. It is illegal for a business to discriminate against a customer because of race, gender, disability, religion, citizenship, or other personal characteristics. The clerk's behavior legally constituted a public accommodation violation based on race and racial harassment. By using or evoking historic racially derogatory imagery - like the insidious legacy of alligator bait - directed at (me) a Black customer, the employee created a hostile environment that denied me equal access and enjoyment of a business. Although the store clerk did not explicitly mention "alligator bait," the historical event of "alligator baiting" invokes a horrific historical image towards me for targeted race-based microaggression and form of intimidation. The combination of my African-inspired scarf and the clerk's unprovoked pivot to alligator meat and Louisiana history strongly implied her racially targeted microaggression.
Although no one else present in the personal care lane when this occurred, there are surveillance cameras all over Grocery Outlet. I documented the entire incident, notified Grocery Outlet via Certified Mail of what happened and mentioned that the video footage would demonstrate the employee's actions on July 17th. Before July 17, I patronized Grocery Outlet for many years. I - like everyone else - have the right to patronize a place of business free from discrimination plus harassment. I post this review to make other customers and would-be customers aware of my recent experience.
