Posted on 05/21/2003 6:06:21 AM PDT by Moose4
Black bikers accuse Myrtle Beach of bias
NAACP, others sue, claim resort treats white bikers better
By BOB DART Cox News Service
In a divisive tale of one city, Myrtle Beach was accused Tuesday of providing the best of times for white bikers and the worst of times for black bikers.
The NAACP and 25 individuals filed both a federal lawsuit and a complaint with the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission charging Myrtle Beach and many of its businesses with discrimination during an event for black bikers in Atlantic Beach.
The annual event draws hundreds of thousands of black motorcycle enthusiasts to the Grand Strand on Memorial Day weekends. But the legal complaints charge that these bikers face racial bias and harassment from a community of hostile hosts.
"This is about an entire town discriminating," said Reed Colfax of the Washington Lawyers' Committee, among the civil rights groups involved in the litigation.
Myrtle Beach officials rejected the charges.
"The allegations are unfounded and inaccurate," said Mark Kruea, spokesman for the city government. "It is absurd to think that Myrtle Beach responds to events based on the race of the vacationers who come here."
At a news conference in Washington, D.C., Colfax said the discrimination is shown by the "starkly different" treatment that Myrtle Beach affords to two motorcycle rallies that the area hosts each May.
In mid-May, the predominately white Harley-Davidson Dealers Association Week is welcomed with signs and special deals by the city government and local businesses, Colfax said. But the following week, climaxing with the long Memorial Day weekend, many businesses shut down, and special traffic restrictions are imposed for Atlantic Beach Bikefest.
"The message could not be more clear to any black person in Myrtle Beach during Black Bike Week: 'We do not want you here, and as long as you stay, we're going to treat you unfairly,"' said the Rev. Henry Singleton, president of the Conway branch of the NAACP. "The upcoming Memorial Day weekend promises more of the same unequal treatment."
The legal complaints charge that at least 28 area restaurants -- ranging from national chains such as Denny's to local eateries such as Grandma's Kitchen and the Drifters Saloon -- close during Bikefest, even though Memorial Day weekend is traditionally one of the most profitable periods for beach businesses. The Yachtsman Hotel is alleged to have changed its rules and prices to discourage guests during Bikefest.
Harley-Davidson rider Joe Cook of Columbia said riding through Myrtle Beach is almost impossible during Bikefest because of the many barricades placed throughout the area. A longtime Bikefest attendee, 56-year-old Cook said that because of the congestion, his bike would overheat after a couple of blocks.
The congestion from last summer's Bikefest was by far the worst, he said.
"You couldn't ride a bike hardly at all," he said. Cook said he's very supportive of the lawsuit.
Harley rider Tony Dowdy, who attends both Bikefest and the Harley-Davidson Dealers Association Week, said the difference between the events is night and day.
During Bikefest, restaurants are closed, hotels increase their rates and barricades that weren't up for the Harley festival are put in place, he said. He's also noticed a difference in police presence.
Dowdy, who lives in Columbia, is also supportive of the lawsuit.
"I want to see things done right," he said.
However, manager Nancy Beneroski said the Denny's named in the lawsuit would be open this Memorial Day weekend. Last year, the restaurant closed early during Bikefest because its cooks could not get through the crowds of cyclists to reach their job, she said.
Tom Gardiner, general manager of the Yachtsman Hotel, said he had not seen the actual complaint and could not respond fully until he had. However, he said, "We believe that we haven't done anything wrong and that our procedures are fair."
Kruea said attendance is the difference between the two bike weeks.
"The two events are not similar except that they happen back-to-back and involve motorcycles," Kruea said.
"The Harley-Davidson Dealers Association draws about 200,000 scattered across more than 60 miles, from Georgetown to Little River. The Atlantic Beach Black Bike Week will draw 300,000 to 350,000 this weekend, and that's down from 450,000 in 1998 and 1999."
Because Atlantic Beach Bikefest packs "many more people in a considerably smaller space," Kruea said the city imposed different traffic rules -- mainly making Ocean Boulevard one-way for the busier event.
"We respond differently because the events are different. It has nothing to do with the race of the visitors," he said.
But the lawsuit charges that the traffic flow was changed to make it harder for the black cyclists to get into Myrtle Beach, where Ocean Boulevard runs parallel to the beach and through the entertainment district.
The lawsuit asks for a court injunction ordering an end and a remedy to the "illegal, discriminatory conduct" and a jury trial to set damages.
I have no personal experience with Black Bike Week but I've heard some bad things about it. Not because of race, but because of the fact that crime goes way up, and all the bikers packed into a much smaller area than Harley Week causes immense gridlock.
Besides...the NAACP massa says that good blacks should be boycotting South Carolina still, shouldn't they? So why is this even an issue! Hey NAACP, boycott, remember? You're suing on behalf of people breaking your own boycott! Duh!
}:-)4
Now who will be a sub for WhiskeyPapa while he's gone?
Yeah, every year at about this time the exact same story comes up.
Flame away, I speak from experience...
"Black Bikers Berate Beach By Barking Bias"
Is anyone else as surprised by this number as I am? I don't mean to be facetious when I say that I don't think I've ever seen a group of black motorcyclists in my life!
They do tend to ride rice burners far more than Harleys.
I can see it now, Jessie Jackson riding into Myrtle Beach on one of those bikes that has a side scoop and in the scoop are his wife and one of his mistresses.
Some of the greatest INVENTORS of our generation are the PC and Racism crowd.
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