@BlogKCThe last few days are turning out to be very illustrative of the racial tensions that often lurk just under the surface in Kansas City, even the shiny, redeveloped parts. As people flock back to a newly thriving Downtown, many parts of our deeply segregated community are bumping into each other to an extent not seen in a generation or more. And like any reunion of long-estranged family members, sometimes it gets a bit messy.
In addition to the well-documented problems in the Power & White Light District, some in the Crossroads Arts District also seem a bit unconformable that an African-American business wants to open in the neighborhood. Fox 4 TV reports that a new black-owned restaurant called Element can’t get its white neighbors to sign off on its liquor license application. Someone has even resorted to drumming up racial hysteria to campaign against the new establishment in the old DB Warehouse building. A couple of years ago a proposed Cuban restaurant and lounge was unable to open when neighbors refused to sign off on a parking variance, and at the time there were also allegations of racial fears.
The underlying theme that many perceive is that new Downtown redevelopment is desperate to avoid the old reputation that Westport once had when it was a popular summer hangout for black youth. Intentional or not, the message to some is that the new Downtown has to be kept as nonthreatening as possible so that the suburbanites, tourists, and hipsters aren’t scared off by too many minorities and too much hip hop music.
Many parts of our community aren’t accustomed to or comfortable interacting with each other. We don’t talk about this in polite company, but often there isn’t much interaction between urbanites and suburbanites, or Brooksiders and East Siders, or Westsiders and Northlanders. We live adjacent to each other but not really with each other. The new Downtown is attracting people from all over the metro area, and in doing so might also be forcing us to learn how to deal with each other again.
Maybe all of the TIFs and tax breaks are worth it, if only because they finally force us to talk about these issues.
I agree with you 100%. I went to P&L for the first time this weekend and loved that there was so much diversity…until you started going into the bars. They were pretty dang segregated. I’m disappointed that this happens even in an area that’s supposed to bring KC together…
Well, Any smart person could go to “Elements” MySpace page and notice that it’s not just a nice little soul food restaurant. There are advertisements for Strippers, In/Out calls, etc. Pretty disgusting…Who would want to sign off on a liquor license for an undercover strip bar!?!?
I completely disagree with Ryan, I took a look at their website http://www.elementloungekc.com I saw nothing of the sort that indicates it will be a strip bar, I personally look forward to them opening. We need a club downtown that doesn’t cost us as taxpayers millions of dollars every year! Looks like it will be a pretty diverse club…I think you need to check that website again….
I’ve never had an issue getting into P&L with my black friends. I think that if you lead the “thug” lifestyle, you’re not going to garner any respect. Just like if you lead the “trailer trash” lifestyle or the “las lomas” lifestyle. I’ve seen plenty of racism in KC (more than I’ve seen in my life) but I don’t think P&L is racist, and I don’t even like the place.
Their website is innocent enought but I was speaking of their MySpace page…A lot of their “friends” advertise quite a bit of services on their comments section and beyond…dig a little deeper Malisa…
I wouldn’t worry about it too much, it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. On KC Pride weekend I remember seeing it next to another bar/club on Main. The Crossroads area is supposed to be trendy, edgy, and local. Obviously the area must be safe, but we need some places where locals can hang out downtown/near downtown that’s outside of power and light.
I work at a place on the same block where element is. My managers and other people who work or have businesses in the building on 19th and Main have said nothing but negative things about things that haven’t even happened yet. I know that if it was an Italian Place, people wouldn’t be “Scared of the Mafia”. Although the people that eat where I work are scared of the “gays” at Flo’s, Kansas City is stuck in the 60′s.
I agree with Sarah. Never had a problem. If there is a problem at all, then it’s a class thing not race…don’t conflate the two. Everyone is always quick to pull the race card. I’m feeling a “stuff white people like” moment. I don’t want a bunch of spikey hair, juiced up, fake tan guidos down there…guess I’m part of the problem. Sorry.
LOL @ Ryan having a problem with “myspace friends”. But yet it’s ok for clubs in downtown KC and in the Plaza area such as NV, Blonde, Mosaic, Reverse, Mi Cocina and many others to run several hundreds of kilos of cocaine in their restrooms each year. I can go to the myspace of any of these clubs and find SEVERAL ppl who have just as many drug charges and the neighborhood “dope boy” and the only difference is their skin color and what part of town they live in.
Digging a little deeper into Ryan’s comments shows the racism that’s touched on in this blog. Myspace is a place where EVERYONE goes to promote anything they wish but when black ppl decide to follow suit there’s a “deeper meaning”. ……and we wonder why ppl move away form KC to get away from all the nonsense of the slave/slave owner mentality.