Not too long ago I was at a make shift Happy Hour by some friends of mine for the Hillman Alumni Association... Now first off this is like the funniest thing in the world to me being the Cosby show college and it does give you a basic idea of what this is. Educated bougie colored folks with jobs. Not really a raucous crowd. Nonetheless we were at the Fulton Lounge, a fairly non-descript spot in the west loop which generally has a pretty cool vibe if its nothing special. In the beginning the turnout was fairly suspect but then the numbers picked up and there were somewhere around 60 block folks there I would guess, sort of spread out but in the counch area. Here is where the bullshit begins... A Manager comes to my boy who is sponsoring the event upset that we did not reserve the area for a private event, she informs us that we are making their customers apprehensive. Now mind you, this is a wednesday from like 5-9pm, they are not jumping like that. Also keep in mind that there was an attempt to reserve but they were told to just show up, of course the girl who called doesn't sound like random ghetto chick on the phone so they were told to just show up. Finally, its not like any cover was being charged and the only reason to believe that everyone in there was together was because we were all Black. Anyway, bullshit upon Bullshit, the night goes on and eventually the manager tells my boy he has to leave now...completely insane for a dude that clearly increased your bottom line that night for an incident free night, but hey I guess they were unhappy that he told his guests that they were being mistreated.
As this was being discussed later, one of the answers that I heard on multiple occasions was that we should just go to Black places and we wouldn't have these problems. It's a popular refrain that I hear many times whether it is stores, clubs, or schools, that whenever we are mistreated in a white insitution it is our own fault for continuing to patronize them instead of staying Black. Isn't this isolation? and if we agree that it is, is it really the answer? It's something I see unfortunately a lot on political scenes, as is the case in Chicago. We get people running or talking about running for mayor of Chicago speaking only of black issues and black neighborhoods, and while I support the black neighborhoods, what if I believe in the investment in greater Chicago? Please believe that as much as I love and attempt to support our Black institutions you are missing out on the wonders of Chicago if you don't support the mainstream. And honestly should it really be that easy to gain segregation by simply mistreating the few black people that come in to warn the rest away, or do we need to force ourselves into the discussion.
In the years since I was first growing up in the City, the restuarant scene and cultural scene in the city have exploded. The randolph quarter has some of the most high quality restaurants in the city and recently has been named the most innovative city for American food in the country. I am sure this is not everyones thing but should black people ignore it? should Black chicagoans not have pride in these facts. In the fact that Chicago is by far the cleanest and architecturally unique large city in the country? in the world even? Can we invest in the growth of our neighborhoods and institutions so that they become a part of Chicago instead of a part of Black Chicago? Are the south and West sides devalued by white money? I think not. We have to grow beyond being anti white to truly being pro-black. And that means that we stand up to people like the Fulton Lounge, not by leaving all white establishments but by leaving the Fulton Lounge and making sure others of all races know that we are not welcomed at the Fulton Lounge, so they miss the success shared by their neighbors, while we simultaneously try to get some Black places to compete with the white areas in terms of locations and environments where we want to be. As long as we are paying taxes its the only thing that makes sense to me....
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