Carbondale Alienates it's Black Students and Residents...
This is a multiple part series...so I will sum this one up in a few paragraphs...
The reason I say this is this.... There are no activities, or entertainment, and very few eateries
for Black Residents and/or Students....Take a look at your local Activities & Entertainment Guides
( this is not to bash any of those publications, this is not their fault) They simply list most if not all of
the entertainment and activities in the area.....So lets see what I want to do?......Check out the woodbox gang @ P.K's naw....
How bout heavy metal @ booby's... naw... oh I know.. A college house party full of underagers...Naw I don't think so...
see where I'm going with this? O.K , Carbondale has numerous bars, clubs, and music venues, as well as eateries...
So why is it so hard for African American Students and Residents to find activities in carbondale...?
Out of all the venues I named above, and all the one's I did'nt name..( to numerous to name).. None offer
entertainment for African Americans.... Our White counterparts have a vast amount of choices to choose from....
Pinch, Copper Dragon, Key west, P.K's, Boobys, Sidetracks, Stix,Tres, and the list goes on and on.....
And out of all those venues will you ever see a R&B Group or band or comedian, Rap group, or any other form of Urban entertainment...
Not even a Radio Station....Calis is the closest thing to Urban entertainment.... but far from it... there dress code does'nt allow
" HIPHOP ATTIRE".....Well that leaves black people out... Our whole attire is of the Hiphop Culture. So unless you dress like Leave it to beaver
You wont be getting in...lol.... It's funny aint it?....NO! It's not it's down right disrespectful!! The College and City always preaching diversity,
So where's it at? .... One Last point.... When African Americans do have a event( Campus related, because the city does'nt have ANY!! events for
African Americans? every one attends that event....EveryONE.....why, because that's the only event going on for African Americans in the whole southern
Illinois area.......Really? All Of Southern Illinois?....the Closes you will find is ST. Louis Mo.... So you get overcrowding, parking problems, admission problems,
tempers flare.. now you have a reason for the Carbondale police Dept. To shut it Down... and it's goes down hill from there.....To bad we can't divide that crowd up
among 30 bars, and clubs that our white counterparts have............
Ricc Johnson, 30yr Resident and Entertainment Figure......