Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
People, myself included, will say Boston is great for White people (I'm mixed white and black btw) to the day is long. There are zero black clubs/bars/sections in downtown Boston. And although I have love for Roxybury, I'd rather not deal with....everything that goes with being in that type area anymore.
You're talking about a city where over 50% of the demographic is white. How could it not being a white city? People like to stick with their own. It's just how things are.
How does one go about establishing a "black club/bar/sections" in downtown Boston? What would these businesses have to do in order to have a majority black clientele but not the black clientele that YOU don't want to deal with (from Roxbury/Dorchester/Mattapan)? The Boston area isn't all that big, so basically, geography can't keep the "wrong people" from going anywhere they want to on their nights out. And I know young people that are willing to drive down to Providence for clubbing. And if a bar or club is seen as a desirable venue to be at, having a high entry fee isn't going to keep out the trash.
And if any club or bar is truly that great, they will attract all sorts of people. So if a bar or club starts out as being black oriented in the Boston downtown area and it's a nice one, it's going to get "diluted" quickly by other races also wanting to enjoy it... and legally, the bar or club owners can't keep them out.
Otherwise, other than having a black majority clientele, what makes a black club/bar a black one? How are the themes and activities any different?
How does one go about establishing a "black club/bar/sections" in downtown Boston? What would these businesses have to do in order to have a majority black clientele but not the black clientele that YOU don't want to deal with (from Roxbury/Dorchester/Mattapan)? The Boston area isn't all that big, so basically, geography can't keep the "wrong people" from going anywhere they want to on their nights out. And I know young people that are willing to drive down to Providence for clubbing. And if a bar or club is seen as a desirable venue to be at, having a high entry fee isn't going to keep out the trash.
And if any club or bar is truly that great, they will attract all sorts of people. So if a bar or club starts out as being black oriented in the Boston downtown area and it's a nice one, it's going to get "diluted" quickly by other races also wanting to enjoy it... and legally, the bar or club owners can't keep them out.
Otherwise, other than having a black majority clientele, what makes a black club/bar a black one? How are the themes and activities any different?
It's just Boston in general. I'm pretty well traveled and in every city I can remember a black section, soul food, black clubs/bars/ etc. Black people out and about in general.
To address your post directly: A black club/bar is different because it offers soul food, plays "black music" like r&B, jazz, hip hop, etc. I mean...I guess if you've never been to a black club before you wouldn't know. It's hard to explain. But going out downtown is all top 40, Britney Spears crap, and that's clearly not a black club/bar. Nor can I get soul food anywhere in downtown Boston. When's the last time you saw guys stepping in the club? Oh yeah, never.
People sit back and say "Boston is 25% Black!" Great, awesome. But when 98% of that 25% stay in two or three parts of Boston, Rox, Dor, Mat, it doesn't help ANY other section of Boston. Go to Southie or Charlestown, any place downtown (F hall, Back Bay, etc), what are you going to see? Shocker.
It's like a silent/hidden racism and I'm not even sure most people are truly aware of it. I do not believe are making that clear decision to be racist, and have only felt that small number of times here.
Talking about opening up a business in downtown. Hopefully you better know the "right people" in power in this city to even get that process going. Oh and since the people of power are also mainly white, you need to come from that world as well, or at the very least have connections into it.
Again, I've lived outside of Boston for a while, minus time when I was active duty military or gone for training. I grew up here and I have friends and family here.
Put it this way, my white friends never notice a thing when we go out. My black friends, countless times, can easily say "Gee, we're the only black people in this bar/club/area." I mean hundreds of times people. But on the other hand, my white friends don't feel safe going into the black sections like Mat, Dor, Rox.
Another thought, even the dress codes to all places downtown really target white people. Not wanting to get to detailed, but clearly you can't "dress black" and get into any nightlife downtown. Everyone is wearing button down shirts like they're going to Chruch. I'm a working professional, I have no problem wearing that for work, but it'd be nice to wear something a little different from the 500 guys in the club.
I just find it really hard to believe people are going to honestly, I mean honestly say to themselves, Boston isn't a white city. Not full out racist like KKK burning crosses or something, nothing like that.
As far as dating goes, people tend to stick with their own. So when I go out with my friends (I have a group of United Nations for friends) we often go downtown. While there, shockingly, there is mainly white people there. Not really an issue for me. But I couldn't even tell you how many times girls have told me they only date white guys. Well into the hundreds over the years. Even my white female friends share similar thoughts. Now that doesn't make them racist, it's just what they prefer. BUT, my point is, that downtown doesn't have a good mix of people. I can't just say so "Oh okay I'll just talk to the black girls then." because they're not even there.
Currently, there seem to be TWO main definitions of "diversity".
The first definition, which is the truer definition imo is having a strong representation of many nationalities, races, cultures and religions. And agreeing with that definition, Boston is certainly extremely diverse with people of all nationalities, races, cultures and religions present.
However, these days, many people define "diversity" by percentage of BLACKS. And they are more concerned with how many blacks are present in top jobs, the best colleges, wealthy neighborhoods. So compared to other cities like Chicago and Atlanta, Boston does seem more white in the top-tiered categories. And Asians aren't really noted in these discussions about diversity because their culture is geeky and frugal by nature, so they have had a strong showing in well paying jobs in the sciences and business, they are everywhere at MIT, and can easily afford expensive real estate.
Otherwise, MA does have a BLACK governor. And the city of Newton does have a BLACK mayor. So I don't see how anyone can argue that Boston or MA is racist.
Anyway, in terms of the original thread topic, it really should be renamed "why doesn't Boston have more of a black presence". And to that I say that for young black professionals, cities like Chicago and Atlanta have more of a pull for them.
I don't think this is true. The San Francisco Bay Area does not have a very large black population but yet it's considered "diverse."
IMO, Boston is more or less known as a white city because its politics have traditionally been dominated by the Irish to an extent NYC and Philly have not. And the Irish have historically had worse relationships with other minorities--particularly African Americans--than the Italians, Polish, Jews, etc. That's a big reason, methinks.
The other part of my theory is based largely on anecdotal evidence. When you tell people you went to college in Boston, they explode with enthusiasm. I mean, if you're white and between the ages of 18-24, why wouldn't you be excited about being surrounded by tens of thousands of people of a similar background in that same exact age range? I think African Americans get excited about Atlanta for the same reason. And Asians gravitate towards the Bay Area because they want to be around Asians who are like them. I don't see anything wrong with that per se.
All of this adds up to a perception that seems less than attractive to professional minorities. I think Boston is very diverse, but the city is not recognized as a place where young minority professionals can build strong networks and thrive.
How does one go about establishing a "black club/bar/sections" in downtown Boston? What would these businesses have to do in order to have a majority black clientele but not the black clientele that YOU don't want to deal with (from Roxbury/Dorchester/Mattapan)? The Boston area isn't all that big, so basically, geography can't keep the "wrong people" from going anywhere they want to on their nights out. And I know young people that are willing to drive down to Providence for clubbing. And if a bar or club is seen as a desirable venue to be at, having a high entry fee isn't going to keep out the trash.
I don't think anybody's looking for a "black club" per se. However, I do think that people are looking for more venues that have more blacks and play more hip hop and R&B. Most clubs and bars will have at least one night per week that's dedicated to Hip Hop/R&B. But those nights are few and far between in Boston. The most consistent venues were Joseph's on High and Jovan's down in Providence. Boston just doesn't have a sufficiently large population of upper middle class black people to have multiple venues catering to a black demographic on multiple nights in any given week.
Quote:
Originally Posted by miu
And if any club or bar is truly that great, they will attract all sorts of people. So if a bar or club starts out as being black oriented in the Boston downtown area and it's a nice one, it's going to get "diluted" quickly by other races also wanting to enjoy it... and legally, the bar or club owners can't keep them out.
Again, I don't think any bars are going to cater to AA clientele most nights of the week, but they will have at least one night where they do so. Some bars will toss in "international" night (which some black people enjoy as well) and also Asian night (even though it may not "officially" be called that). I also don't think anyone cares about the crowd being "diluted." It's generally the case that non-blacks will not turn out to bars that keep a steady rotation of Diana Ross, Bernard Wright, Lords of the Underground, Childish Gambino, etc. anyway (and thugs generally don't like that type of music either). But some do, which is fine.
Quote:
Originally Posted by miu
Otherwise, other than having a black majority clientele, what makes a black club/bar a black one? How are the themes and activities any different?
Tillman's is a good example of what could be considered a "black" bar, but that's not really accurate since most people who go there probably aren't black. It's just a bar that spins music and serves food that's associated with African Americans. And African Americans coincidentally go there. But the crowds on the whole tend to be pretty diverse.
[LEFT]But if you go out to downtown, you're dressing up like a dude from the Gap just to get in. Once in, enjoy the Justin Beiber.
If you truely believe this, you don't get downtown at night often. Good Life features hip-Hop, rnb, reggae at least 3 nights a week (weekends included). I've seen Stretch Armstrong, DJ Premiere, Ed OG, DJ Maseo perform there. DJ Yuda will be there this Saturday.
If you truely believe this, you don't get downtown at night often. Good Life features hip-Hop, rnb, reggae at least 3 nights a week (weekends included). I've seen Stretch Armstrong, DJ Premiere, Ed OG, DJ Maseo perform there. DJ Yuda will be there this Saturday.
You people need to get more.
I think you may have missed the part about black people being there. And not just a handful. But a large, critical mass that will at the very least constitute a plurality.
I was there March 1st to see Nathaniel Jay downstairs. Brek.One was upstairs and the crowd was easy 50/50 black/white.
I used to DJ in Boston. The reason I got into DJing in the first place was because the DJs were so terrrible. So my friends all said, "Hey, you're always messing around with music. You've got good taste. Why don't you try it out?" And that's how it started.
It's hard for one DJ to be everything to everybody. Spinning Hip Hop in front of a majority White/Asian audience is not the same thing as spinning in front of a majority black audience. So you have to really be up on the tastes of that particular crowd. As a general matter, when white people are "into" Hip Hop, it tends to be more of the Old School "classic" stuff (i.e., Tribe Called Quest, Del tha Funky Homosapien, Camp Lo, etc.). So if the audience trends white, I'll generally stay in that lane. But if the audience trends black, which is a crowd more acutely aware of the trends in Hip Hop and R&B (as well as the more obscure R&B artists), I have to bring a different type of creativity to the mix. You're really spinning for a VH1 Soul audience at that point. That crowd really has to be "grooved" first.
It would be difficult for me, for example, to spin for a totally white, hipster crowd. I can entertain mixed crowds in grindboxes or hotel lobbies pretty easily, but I just don't know certain music well enough to please every crowd.
I used to DJ in Boston. The reason I got into DJing in the first place was because the DJs were so terrrible. So my friends all said, "Hey, you're always messing around with music. You've got good taste. Why don't you try it out?" And that's how it started.
It's hard for one DJ to be everything to everybody. Spinning Hip Hop in front of a majority White/Asian audience is not the same thing as spinning in front of a majority black audience. So you have to really be up on the tastes of that particular crowd. As a general matter, when white people are "into" Hip Hop, it tends to be more of the Old School "classic" stuff (i.e., Tribe Called Quest, Del tha Funky Homosapien, Camp Lo, etc.). So if the audience trends white, I'll generally stay in that lane. But if the audience trends black, which is a crowd more acutely aware of the trends in Hip Hop and R&B (as well as the more obscure R&B artists), I have to bring a different type of creativity to the mix. You're really spinning for a VH1 Soul audience at that point. That crowd really has to be "grooved" first.
It would be difficult for me, for example, to spin for a totally white, hipster crowd. I can entertain mixed crowds in grindboxes or hotel lobbies pretty easily, but I just don't know certain music well enough to please every crowd.
I am a white boy and want to bang my head on the wall when a DJ will play Journey, Bon Jovi, or White Snake in a bar where there is dancing.
I think it's more of an indication at how bad mainstream rap and hip hop has been over the last several years. It's gotten pretty bad, imo. Talking about a younger generation not knowing the guys and groups who we big in the 90s for example.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
