Saturday, February 11, 2012

The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice and Oppression

I've been to the Black Bikers weekend held in Myrtle Beach, SC several times in the past.  The last time I went to the event, I saw a lot of changes to the traffic routes, the businesses, the rates of the rooms and the deposits required to rent a room for that weekend.  I lot of the changes apply just for that weekend, although, there are several other bike weekends held at the beach, as well.  It has gotten to the point where the number is people attending has decreased, and instead, they boycott Myrtle Beach and head to Daytona or Miami for the Memorial Day holiday.
These incidents have diminished equity because it changed the rules and requirements for this weekend that is basically a time when a lot of black people visit the beach.  The first year I went after the changes were made was the last year I went for that weekend.  I felt like a lot of unnecessary changes were made because of the fact that this event is mostly blacks.  I'm sure that a lot of other factors may have been a part of decisions, but this weekend was targeted first.
Who or what would have to change is a big question.  Many business at the beach welcome the bikers as well as their business, but there are some business and residents who don't.  The change will have to be a collaboration of many things, but I think over the coming years the event is going to move to another location that is possibly more welcoming.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Wanda,

    Your biking sounds like a lot of fun. Please do not let people who have biases stop you from having fun with your friend. Please be safe and have fun.

    ReplyDelete