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Being Black in America

July 23, 2008

So last night was a night to remember. I went to six clubs, saw a crazy Heavy Metal show that gave new meaning to a Great concert and stage performance, saw an R&B show, was in close proximity to a shooting (hate saying involved or saw) and came home extremely late, only to begin watching tv, because my mind couldn't completely grasp everything that happened to me during the night. It was like a movie, but it was real events happening to me.

I will start by giving you a dry run down of the events that took place. I left work at 7pm and went directly to an "after work set" to meet up with my previous boss and a friend of mine. We left there and went to a Rock concert at another club around 9pm. We left there around 10pm to see an R&B concert at another club. We left that club around 10:30pm and went to another club. We decided that we had enough of that club, went to another one, only to leave there around 2:30 and then arrive at our last club for the night. Finally I was home about 4:30am. What a NIGHT!!!

By most standards that is a crazy night, but the devil is in the details. At the Rock concert, first I have to explain that it was a HEAVY METAL concert and it was a great experience. The lighting and staging was especially well done. The instrumentation was great and everyone played their part bringing together a sound that I usually wouldn't purchase, but it was a site to see. I was pleasantly pleased and as I was leaving, I saw a lot of music industry veterans that I knew. They were shocked to see me and the people I was with at the Rock event. There was even a statement that "we were the only Black people there." Now there is nothing truly offensive about the circumstances, because it was true, I think I counted 4 other black people total in the entire building. (Note to people who don’t give Rock a chance, so far I have seen 3 heavy metal shows and trust me, they are something to see at least once. I will go back and see a show. The group I saw was “Shinedown”.

My issue comes in that there are numerous white people who work rap/urban projects in music, but there are not many minorities working Rock. I have even heard some people say they don't listen to "certain" music they work, but they are still working it, because they understand the job and how to reach a demographic. Well why is it that the gatekeepers in the industry feel that minorities can only work "minority" focused projects? If I am a marketer, shouldn't I be able to market anything? It's always amazing how many white people are in a meeting about the new "street" project, but when it comes to Rock, if anyone other than a white person gives a suggestion it is seen as a remedial comment?

Well that was one of my first issues that kept me up thinking as I got home at an ungodly hour that should have sent me straight to bed. The second was that at the R&B concert, I was in the club, which is pretty small, when a shooting broke out. Let’s start with the following, the artist I came to see got off the stage, after talking briefly, he started walking towards a disruption. I realized I saw the guys involved in the dispute, when they came into the club and I had felt then that they weren't up to anything good. Then when I saw the pushing, I tried to grab the artist to follow me as I began to run for the exit. I reached the door only to hear the gun shot. I quickly ran outside, ducked behind a wall and waited a couple of minutes, finally reached the artist to make sure he was okay, then rejoined my friends (they had already left to grab something to eat) and we simply drove off to our next destination.

Even though, the entire gun situation is wrong, my issue came with myself. At no time did I feel like, "oh my god I was almost killed." Rather, I felt, "I knew this would happen when I saw the guys. Oh well, time to move on to the next destination." No other feeling came over me. I just rolled with it and kept it moving. A feeling came over me later when I got home that I was crazy for not being scared, nervous or unsure. I just knew what was in store and kept my eyes open for any disturbance to follow because I knew there would be some gun play. Something’s wrong with that kind of thinking. I am not sure if it is because of the industry I work in or just the perception I have from being in certain situations. Why didn't I become scared? Why did violence like that, which was so close, not affect me and cause me to go home and reflect?

At the end of the night, I just sat for a minute and could not believe the night I had been involved in. Mind you, I don't drink so there is an added adventure of watching people as they get drunker. Either way, it doesn't matter what's your status or your intentions, there is always something. I am just wondering, why? Does it have to do with race or choices? I don't have the answers, but I definitely will think about last night for quite some time.

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Comments (2)

Human beings are naturally biased. Maybe if it was the last day of the world, nobody would care about individual race differences.

To the world, we are infinitely small like dots that could be ignored, but many people don't see that dots are supposed to be equal regardless of their color.

Posted 141 days ago by Christine

Wow!  Scary and it lends credence to "nothing good happens on the street late at night".  Times have changed and it is important to try to avoid putting yourself in volatile situations, but how do you do that?  It can happen anytime, any place; all you can do is live your life, be aware of you surroundings (which gratefully it sounds like you were) and trust in God.  I love you and I am glad that you are safe.

Posted 167 days ago by Cheryl

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  • Jason Wiley

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Jason's Latest Commentary (6)

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