by Dave Hesser

I recently went with a friend to a black market. This was my first time ever going to one, so I really didn’t know what to expect. I’ve been to the Korean Market before, usually to pick up fruit for my mom or really cheap floral arrangements for my girlfriend. I’ve also been to 711, which my friend calls the Gandhi Market, but I have never seen a picture of Gandhi in there, let alone the man himself.
I figured the black market was a place where black people sold different things. I didn’t know what kind of things black people would be selling that I would want, but I went because I have an open mind.
My friend explained to me that a black market is where stolen and illegal goods are sold for a very nice price. I was intrigued, but I was still assuming that the merchants would all be black.
When we finally got there, I was totally surprised that there weren’t just black people. There were Spanish people, Asian people, and even white people. Why is it called a black market if there are whites selling things too? Must be some affirmative action thing, but it seems pretty racist to me.
I bought a hammer from a heroin addict selling tools from Sears Hardware. My dad will love his birthday present, I’m sure of it. I am really glad that I visited this black market, because even though the name is racist, it involved people of all races coming together in har-money.