Every once and again we get one of those unintended cultural glimpses that reveal ugly truths. In the case I’m referencing, it had to do with the 33 trapped Chilean miners. A reporter at a local TV station (one which I did some on-air political commentary for last year) decided to show viewers the cramped conditions the miners will have to exist under for many months, until a rescue shaft can be bored through the solid rock.
The reporter used a conference room that approximated the size of the space the miners now occupy, and then had 33 station employees crowd into the room, to show how tight the conditions are below ground. What she unintentionally also showed was a lack of diversity at the station: While the reporter happens to be Asian-American, all of the 33 others in the room happened to be white.
One would think that in a diverse work environment at least a few of the employees shown would have been persons of color. My phone, as I expected, began ringing off the hook. Did I see the segment? Yes, I did see it. Could the omission of minorities (assuming our eyes were not fooling us and indeed there were persons of color included in the 33 … hey they could have just been short in stature and hidden from the camera by a taller person) been done on purpose? No, I don’t think anyone paid any attention to what was being broadcast. What was I going to do about it? Nothing. No just because I did some commentary awhile back doesn’t mean I have any clout with station management (who, by the way, are some pretty decent people to my mind).
What we’d witnessed was Cleveland’s embedded culture norm of lack of diversity … so much the “norm” that few, if any, whites even notice when it happens.
Another quick example: I opened the daily newspaper and saw an ad for newspaper sales reps; the paper wanted to hire some folks. The image was of eight or nine people standing and sitting in an office setting, the caption went (now don’t quote me on this, it was a while back) something like “Come Join Our Team.” Problem was, all of the folks were white. When I emailed a senior member of management, I got the “OMG!” response and the ad never ran again.
These are just glimpses of what happens in Greater Cleveland on a routine, daily basis. The problem is, most Clevelanders have little comparative experience in terms of what the racial culture is like in other cities, and when someone, say a football or basketball player does make a negative comparison, our response is not to deal with the issue, but to shoot the messenger. “He couldn’t catch passes,” or “he deserted us.” And, of course, folks who don’t care to come face-to-face with our lack of diversity hereabouts will certainly cast aspersions on me for raising the issue.
But someone has to raise it or nothing changes. We have a virtual crisis situation in the Warehouse District, and if the past is any indication, we will not address it in the proper manner and the area will sooner or later go the way of the Flats.
When I first returned to Cleveland in 1995 I was told by virtually all of my black acquaintances that the Flats entertainment district was not friendly to minorities … but I had to see for myself. They were right. The same feeling, or culture, currently exists in the Warehouse District, where blacks are routinely harassed by bouncers and snubbed by bartenders and staff. It’s real easy to let someone know they are not wanted somewhere when the club owner adopts a lack of diversity as a business model.
The feeling is, if too many blacks begin frequenting an establishment, whites will stop frequenting said establishment. Actually there is no truth to that nonsense, but try and tell that to the club owners.
Certainly if there is a problem with under-aged youth congregating around the area (be they black or white) it has to be dealt with. No persons, again be they black or white, wants to encounter hordes of broke young people just hanging out in the street. But every black is not under-aged, broke, or wear their pants sagging … but in some venues all blacks are treated badly.
Why do blacks have to show three forms of I.D. to get into a nightclub, when white patrons show none?
If we really wanted to document the facts, some community institution or entity would commission a study to see just what the facts are. I’ve never seen even a black parking valet at most Warehouse District clubs, but then I could have been down there on their night off. A study of hiring practices, admissions policies, and other aspects of business operations would remove the questions out of the realm of the anecdotal and into the realm of fact … and that’s just why no such study will ever done in Cleveland: We don’t want to know the truth because … we can’t handle the truth.
Next week: The Myth of the Mandingo
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://www.frombehindthewall.com.