Cape's segregated scene

A few days ago I received an e-mail from a contact on the arts and entertainment beat, complaining about our stories related to Black History Month.

Actually, the whole newsroom received the message.

I won't name names, but this guy's point was basically that we don't need Black History Month. Well, that got me thinking about just why we honor February in such way.

Is there a need in the year 2007 for Black History Month?

To find my answer, all I had to do was think about Cape Girardeau's nightlife to realize there's still a lot of difference between the races in America, and still a lot of understanding that's missed between the white majority and the black minority.

I pose this question to you: How many times have you been out watching a band, or just having drinks downtown, and seen a racial mix at whatever place you were hanging out at? I can tell you from my experience, not many.

Whether we want to face the fact or not, Cape Girardeau's social life is segregated along racial lines, as is its artistic community. I know few black artists and musicians on the local scene. One who comes to mind is one of the best bassists around, Jarred Harris, but he's about the only one I know. There's also the Christian rap group, The Church Boys, who are based in Cape Girardeau. Other than that, I'm pretty much drawing a blank.

I'm sure they're out there, but I'm white, and in Cape Girardeau, it seems us white people don't get much interaction with blacks. In fact, about the only night spot I've been to downtown where I see many people outside my own Anglo-Saxon race is the Billiards Center, and still the numbers aren't earth-shattering.

Now this probably isn't purposeful. I doubt any downtown bar owners, and few of their patrons, would say they don't want minorities around. But we can't deny the reality that in social life and in the arts, Cape is in the grips of de facto segregation.

On the same day I received the previously mentioned e-mail, I had a conversation with KZIM radio anchor and "Soundscan" co-producer Candace Banks, another acquaintance on my beat. Candace and I spoke at length about this subject -- Cape Girardeau's segregated social life.

She's also noticed the lack of races hanging out together in the local social scene. I don't think I'm seeing something that's not there.

Candace can remember many times when she's been the only black person in a downtown establishment. She was with friends, but in her ethnicity, she was alone. This doesn't always happen, but it does many times. Not to mention she has numerous stories about receiving racist treatment in public places. She didn't say anything to me about a downtown establishment, but her stories about happenings at other businesses I won't name were shocking.

The gulf between the races in Cape goes beyond just where we hang out -- it also applies to who we hang out with. I'll be the first to admit, I don't really have any black friends in Cape. I have many acquaintances who are black, but not people who I call friends. My isolation is just like that of many of us -- I simply don't have much contact with minorities in my private life.

It's not something I'm proud of, but it's the truth. So what could be the reason? Most likely our culprit is a difference in culture, or a perceived difference in culture.

Not to sound like I'm stereotyping, because you can't put a blanket characterization on all people who happen to share a common heritage, but I would venture that many young black residents of Cape don't want to go downtown and see a loud rock band. Nor do most young white nightlife people want to dance to hip-hop. I'm among them. Nothing against hip-hop or its fans, it's just not my genre.

And here we hit the meat of the issue. I think what the guy who wrote the anti-Black History Month e-mail probably wanted to communicate is that, if we're supposed to live in a colorblind society, why do we recognize differences between the races by learning about and celebrating our differences?

The truth is that we can't live in a colorblind society. While we are all Americans, there are differences between the races that live on our soil. White males like me have had the run of the country since its founding -- at the cost of "the others" who are of different heritage, be they black, American Indian, Hispanic or Asian. By the very nature of this relationship, the cultural experiences are different.

But only by understanding the different circumstances that have affected the races in this country can we better understand each other. That doesn't mean whites and blacks will finally start intermingling more in the social sphere, but it could be a start. This is why we need Black History Month.

And then again, maybe I'm just hanging out in the wrong places.

Maybe I'm not noticing all the black artists that are out there.

I hope that's not the case. And if I am, I hope someone will help me bring them to light.

Matt Sanders is the Arts & Leisure editor for the Southeast Missourian and the editor of OFF Magazine.