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.