Tilting at Windmills

Several Austin businesses and retailers have decided to shutter their doors and eschew profits this weekend for fear of the crowds and subsequent revenue generated by the annual 82nd annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.

I agree – that doesn’t make sense.

For those outside the state of Texas, or who just don’t follow the event, the Texas Relays is one of the premier track and field competitions in the country. The meet is legendary: Knute Rockne was the meet’s referee in 1929. Held every year in mid-April at Mike Myers Stadium (e.g., mini-DKR), the spectacle reels in some of the top track and field talent in the world. Virginia Tech’s Queen Harrison, who ran the 400-meters for the U.S. Olympic squad, is at this year’s event. World 100m and 200m champion Tyson Gay (who currently holds the American 100m record at 9.77 seconds) anchored the fastest 4x100m relay team of the day in the prelims. Three-time Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion Jeremy Wariner blistered the track with a 45.2 anchor leg for his team’s 4x400m relay.

He was sort of a big deal.

The Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates 40,000 people will attend the event, generating an estimated $8 million in revenue for the city. As proof that Austin is also the Live Music Capitol of the World, the annual Urban Music Festival will showcase Boyz II Men, Cameo and the Sugar Hill Gang this weekend, too, meaning there are likely thousands more who might not necessarily attend the Relays, but will definitely go see Larry Blackmon’s codpiece.

Ow!

So, why would Sixth Street clubs like Emo’s and the Flamingo Cantina, and the huge shopping complex Highland Mall, decide to close rather than rake in fistloads of cash over the next few days?

If you have any wherewithal about you, you’ve probably figured out the predominant ethnic makeup of the estimated 40,000 people: African-American.

Before knee-jerking and going willy-shrilly at even the slightest hint that something may be biased because of someone’s race (read: racist), know that some of these business owners have a point.

In those businesses’ defense, the Texas Relays weekend can be a little trying, to say the least. Angela Gillen, owner of Sixth Street’s Flamingo Cantina (a predominantly reggae bar) says her perception is that Texas Relays weekend “seems like it’s a big gun party in the street” and that it’s “counterproductive” to stay open.

Bill Corsello, general manager of Emo’s nightclub (a popular live music venue in the heart of Sixth Street), says it’s a financial decision to close this weekend, saying “people just want to be on the street. They don’t want to go into our club.” That gibes with Austin Police Chief Patti Robinson’s noting that many of the downtown partiers are underage and cannot get into the clubs, so they hang around outside, forcing her to put an additional 100 APD patrolling the downtown streets.

Highland Mall’s closing is a little curious, but there’s a history there that at least gives them a little benefit of the doubt. “There are malls where white people go and malls where white people used to go,” Chris Rock tells us. Highland is the latter. What used to be a bustling, high-trafficked and well-heeled place to shop has turned into ground zero for Austin urban thuggery on the weekends. For those of you who know Oklahoma City, think Crossroads. Two years ago, the mall shut down during Texas Relays weekend due to “unruly crowds” (read: a stabbing). Highland Mall claiming that there’s an increase in unruliness anytime is laughable. In a city known for its relative safety and low crime rate, you ask anybody where in Austin are you most likely to get assaulted or clipped in a drive-by. Those that don’t say Rundberg Lane will say Highland Mall (those that do say Rundberg will follow it up quickly with “Highland, too.”).

Austin’s television news stations aren’t exactly known for hard-hitting, thought-provoking journalism, but KVUE News’ Quita Culpepper, someone in the business I’ve always respected, actually put together some statistics that show recent crime hasn’t been any worse during Texas Relays weekend than it is during ACL fest or the ROT Biker Rally (where African-American attendees are as scarce as they are prevalent during the Relays).

So, can these businesses make a case to say that the color of the Texas Relay revelers’ money is no good? Sure. Does it send a good signal to those coming into town, and others who are on the outside looking in? Definitely not.

For those who don’t live in Austin, it’s is a city where a nasty, homeless, filthy crossdresser can come in second in the mayoral race, getting nearly 7.75% of the vote. (Note: you’re not funny or edgy anymore, Leslie. Quit bringing your stink and your leathery man-ass hanging out of that pink thong past my outdoor patio table at Guero’s when I’m trying to eat my damned fajita tacos). The city’s unofficial motto “Keep Austin Weird,” while a trite touristy slogan now, started off as a sincere sentiment that the majority of the population remember that the city became successful by celebrating its diversity.

Many still remember some of the old wounds that Austinites would like to think have healed, but stories like this one concerning the Texas Relays weekend reminds us that they’re still visible:

• UT has the dubious distinction of fielding the last all-white national football champion in 1969. In 1970, Julius Whittier, a backup lineman, was the token African-American on the Longhorns roster. He backs up Darrell Royal’s claim that DKR wanted to recruit African-Americans (he had coached African-American players at two previous coaching stops), but that the culture surrounding the university and the football program wouldn’t allow it. Whether true or not, it didn’t stop Barry Switzer from cherry-picking Texas high school African-American sensations like Joe Washington, Greg Pruitt and Thomas Lott, telling them either directly or overtly implying that they’d never get a chance to play at UT because of the color of their skin. It also didn’t help when the 2008 movie The Express brought back some painful memories of Syracuse’s Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy, suffering racism at the hands of, among others, DKR’s Longhorns in the 1960 Cotton Bowl.


Whiter than an albino mime.

• Austin’s Police Department has had to unfortunately defend itself over claims of racism in the past. Granted, you probably can’t find a law enforcement agency that hasn’t had some kind of abuse or bias claims against it. Not everybody is the LAPD, though. The APD’s rep depends on who you ask. When former APD chief Stan Knee retired in 2007, he was commended by Austin’s NAACP for his work in addressing and reducing incidents that could be construed as racial profiling. When he first assumed the top post at APD, he had the incredibly difficult task of cleaning up a piss-poor community relations perception after the now-infamous 1995 Cedar Avenue riots. Again, the details of the incident depend on who you ask, but the facts we know are that on February 14, 1995, after an African-American resident in East Austin called 911 to say he had ejected a gang member from his party because he was carrying a gun, 65 Austin police officers swooped in and beat, maced and cattle-prodded over a dozen party-goers while others were threatened at gunpoint. The city eventually reached a financial settlement with some of the aggrieved parties, but the emotional scars no doubt still linger for some.

• Knee was lauded for expanding his predecessor Elizabeth Watson’s community policing program to improve relations with East Austin, but with a city of Austin’s size and ethnically-diverse makeup, unfortunate incidents keep the wounds from completely healing. Since 2002, white APD officers have shot and killed four minority residents. The 2003 killing of Jessie Owens by white APD officer Scott Glasgow galvanized East Austin. A District Judge threw out criminally-negligent homicide charges against Glasgow and the DOJ later ruled that Glasgow did not violate Owens’ civil rights when he killed him. The white officer’s punishment for taking a black teen’s life ended up being a 90 day suspension (without pay).

There are more recent examples, too:

• Geoff Ketchum’s afternoon show on Austin’s ESPN radio didn’t help matters this week when it referred to Texas Relays weekend as “South-by-Southwest for black folks.” I heard it with my own ears. I guess they thought that was OK, though, because their producer “AT,” an African-American female, said it.

• Lifted from the “I can’t believe there are still people like this” files, Longhorn backup lineman Buck Burnette was dismissed from the team this past season for “unspecified violation of team rules.” We can go ahead and glean that the specific violation was his Facebook status on November 5, 2008, the day after President Obama was elected, saying “all the hunters gather up. there’s a n***** in the White House.” In Burnett’s “apology,” he said he was just passing along what he thought was a funny text message from a friend and that “I grew up on a ranch in a small town where that was a real thing and I need to grow up.” I hope that doesn’t mean what I think it means. He also indicated that he thought his real transgression was merely expressing that thought publicly. Credit Mack Brown for showing this redneck the door post haste.

Flash forward to today in 2009, in the most progressive city in the state of Texas, the azure blue island in a sea of red. Is race playing a factor in these businesses shutting down on a huge financial windfall weekend? Living in Austin for a decade and a half and seeing the dynamics of the city at work, I can honestly say no. Does it look good, though? Honestly, no it doesn’t. At worst, it’s a very bad PR move and reflects poorly on a city still working to mend fences with its minority communities. Gossip can spread like wildfire in situations like these and people not prone to weigh all of the facts could easily jump to the “those folks are a bunch of racists” conclusion. Likewise, the other side should have thought further ahead at the impact their actions would have on the minds of tens of thousands of people coming to Austin to party, have fun and most importantly to business leaders, spend money.