This
story may pre-date most of the DMG readers, but it's an eye opener. Recently,
Lou Rawls spent a few moments talking to Cal Thomas, on the FOX News Channel.
One of the questions that Cal asked Lou about was the "bad old days", when
artists such as Lou, and Little Richard were touring the United States
supporting their hit records, in places like Iowa. Even though they were
entertaining crowds of white folks, when the show was over, segregation
efforts prevented them from staying in a nice room, in a nice hotel.
"There was no point in going negative over the situation, said Lou.
You could not win, and it was not yet the time to fight that battle. Thank GOD
for the Holiday Inn chain, that came along, and stopped enforcing that kind of
thinking."
This is more than just a little history lesson. Now, in 2004,
most major US hotels dare not show any sign of discrimination in their
housing policies. Most vacationing black folks want to stay in an upscale
hotel chain. And, no this is not an ad, paid for by the Holiday Inn chain, I
just wanted to remind everybody who was there for black folks when we needed a
friend. Occasionally when you find yourself on the road, looking for a Westin
Bonaventure Hotel, a Double Tree, or a Hilton, remember this story, and spend
a little money with Holiday Inn.
(Let me further put this into perspective. Back in 1970, I got my first after school job. I was hired as a dishwasher in the Holiday Inn on Wagnorford Road, in North Dayton, Ohio. There were 4 blacks, working in the restaurant - 3 cooks and a dishwasher. We were not at the time allowed to work outside of the kitchen. We could not wait tables, or even bus the tables, when the meal was completed, BUT we could stay in the rooms.)
