Why isn't Philadelphia mentioned in "Black mecca" discussions? (movie theaters, living)

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

Google Cameo Parkway Records. It will explain what people are saying to you.

That even predates Philadelphia International Records.

And now you've gone and put "South Street" in my head ("Where do all the hippies meet? South Street, South Street..." Yes, I heard that song on KPRS, the Black R&B radio station in Kansas City, when I was a kid).

[soulsurv]

Originally Posted by KoNgFooCj

That's right. Philly created gangster rap. Even Ice T said he was inspired by Schooly D.

How INSPIRING

Philly needs a resurgence of the BOYZ! gansta rap listeners are sitting in my classroom at the Juvennile Detention Center. yeah...sorry, but I'm an "Oldster!!"


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rciee-oQLoI

[Sketter]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

Google Cameo Parkway Records. It will explain what people are saying to you.

Thanks for the info, I've heard of Columbia Records, Stax, and of course Motown but never heard of Cameo Parkway Records. I even took a history of music class in college and there was never any mentioning of it. Out of curiosity are there any tours, museums, etc about Cameo Parkway Records where people can learn more about it.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

That even predates Philadelphia International Records.

And now you've gone and put "South Street" in my head ("Where do all the hippies meet? South Street, South Street..." Yes, I heard that song on KPRS, the Black R&B radio station in Kansas City, when I was a kid).

When I was a student at Philadelphia College of Art, most of our liberal arts classes were across Broad St over a weird selection of store fronts. The 2nd floor was liberal arts classes, and the 3rd floor was Cameo Parkway Records.

South St, Chubby Checker, etc. etc. etc. Cameo Parkway Records had black and white artists. Hi Lit and Joe Niagara played them all on WIBG.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by Sketter

Thanks for the info, I've heard of Columbia Records, Stax, and of course Motown but never heard of Cameo Parkway Records. I even took a history of music class in college and there was never any mentioning of it. Out of curiosity are there any tours, museums, etc about Cameo Parkway Records where people can learn more about it.

I think that your best bet is to stumble on someone like me who remembers. Then google it.

American Bandstand started out in Philadelphia. Over the years I met a couple of the guys who had been regulars. One of them, Tommy DeNoble, was a coworker. He was such a nice guy, may he rest in peace.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

When I was a student at Philadelphia College of Art, most of our liberal arts classes were across Broad St over a weird selection of store fronts. The 2nd floor was liberal arts classes, and the 3rd floor was Cameo Parkway Records.

South St, Chubby Checker, etc. etc. etc. Cameo Parkway Records had black and white artists. Hi Lit and Joe Niagara played them all on WIBG.

Yep. But I think Sketter has a point here: For all its contributions to both R&B and pop music in general, Cameo-Parkway isn't as widely known as Motown in Detroit, Stax in Memphis or Gamble-Huff/Philadelphia International Records in its own hometown.

Or, for that matter, New York's Brill Building and Phil Spector's hit factory over on the pop side. Yet one can make a strong case that the label belongs on the same plane with all of these.

[walker1962]

Originally Posted by Pennsport

Oh, I totally disagree. I've spent a lot of time in the south (every week for two year in Atlanta and lots of time in TX). Racism isn't even hidden there. The south needs a complete overhaul in my opinion.

Compared to UP north!? I lived in both regions and traveled all over the country.

In the last 30 years, there has been reverse migration by the black populace, heading down south. Why is that?

Second, outside of the big cities of the north, very few minorities can be found in small towns, i.e. a lot of clustering in big cities. Why is that?

Third, I'm pretty sure the number of black politicians in the south is at least equal to those up north. I'm pretty sure two the more college degrees both at HBCUs and non-HBCUs are being achieved in the sunbelt states than up north.

Atlanta may be more segregated than Philly but its not a big difference. https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gal...es/1780223001/
And one can see how some states, like Louisiana and Georgia down south are as bad as Wisconsin up north

But looking at this website, what I notice is how things can vary by state. For example, Texas has four cities in the top 50 for high diversity.

https://wallethub.com/edu/cities-wit...versity/10264/

[Sketter]

Originally Posted by walker1962

Compared to UP north!? I lived in both regions and traveled all over the country.

In the last 30 years, there has been reverse migration by the black populace, heading down south. Why is that?

Everything Iv'e read states that the reverse migration for black people from the North back to the South is due to economic opportunity and lower cost of living.

https://www.npr.org/2011/06/28/13747...north-to-south

https://www.npr.org/2019/05/23/72195...e-to-the-south

Originally Posted by walker1962

Second, outside of the big cities of the north, very few minorities can be found in small towns, i.e. a lot of clustering in big cities. Why is that?

During the great migration black people moved to Northern, Midwestern and West Coast cities because that was where the jobs were and have since stayed in those cities or the surrounding suburbs.

[walker1962]

Originally Posted by Sketter

Iv'e been lurking this forum for awhile and thought I would like to put my two cents in after reading some people responses.

In terms of the original question, Philly isn't even a national destination for whites or other POC around the country so why would it even be for black people. The overwhelming majority of the people you meet in the city are either from Pennsylvania or South Jersey.

Philly's economy and even the metro isn't nearly as diverse as other comparable cities (NYC, DC, LA, Chicago, Dallas, ATL, Houston) so naturally less people (including black people) are going to migrate here from outside the region compared to those cities.

Let's be honest Philly is probably the most provincial city in the Country and people here (obviously not everybody) are proud of it, "they don't like us and we don't care". Outside of the Tax Abatement City Hall is pretty open and honest about not wanting to attract outside residents. You had attempted but failed ban on Bay Windows in one council person's district to try and restrict new development in his district and City Council this week just passed a bill that would require all Civil Service employees to have lived in the city for 1 year prior to being able to apply for any city job. Reading other forums on the latter people are cheering that bill saying it'll be good for Philly lifers, it was hard growing up here so only native should get city jobs, we need to help our own before we help outsiders, etc.

From personal experience being from the South I would say that historically Philly has done a **** poor job on exporting is black history and culture compared to is white history. Nationally everyones heard about the Italian Market, Rocky, Cheesesteaks, water ice, the founding fathers, South Philly accent but not much about the City black history and culture. People even from afar have at least heard about the black scenes in NOLA, ATL, NYC, DC, Oakland, Chicago, Houston but not so much Philly.

As a side note I learned there are over 1000 statues in the city and 3 are of black people that were put up in the last 10 years 2 statues are of women and don't get me started how the city idolizes a fictional movie character while rarely mentioning Smokin Joe Frazier.

Its not just Philly, its PA in general. PA like Michigan and several other Midwestern and northeastern states has a high % of residents born and raised there. Those states are growing slowly or not at all. Wallethub.com has a great article on diversity and shows how states, except for north Carolina and Florida are much more diverse in terms of foreign-born and from other states.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by Pennsport

Oh, I totally disagree. I've spent a lot of time in the south (every week for two year in Atlanta and lots of time in TX). Racism isn't even hidden there. The south needs a complete overhaul in my opinion.

I'm not sure where or when you were in Texas, and I'm sure there are places in the state where bigots feel free to let their prejudice run free.

But that wasn't the impression I got of Houstonians, or at least not those who I encountered when I went there last summer to attend my first Daviss (Mom's side — her small Midwestern branch of the family spells the surname with one s, as it is usually spelled; the family patriarch in Texas didn't want to be known by his "slave name" in the late 19th century, hence the variant spelling of the surname) family reunion.

(I also have a Texas connection on my Dad's side of the family: his mother grew up in Lufkin, in the East Texas pinelands.)

And I noted as I drove into downtown Houston the Sunday of my return that a street that ran through a mostly black neighborhood south of downtown and had been named for a Confederate army general had been renamed "Emancipation Avenue." This was well before the current rash of Confederate-symbol-removal.

Given the joke about MARTA, I'm sure the cultural makeover has a ways to go still. But even many Blacks have observed that, racism notwithstanding, there is more intimacy between whites and blacks in Southern cities than in Northern ones. The reverse migration is taking place for a reason.