Kansas City Sundown Hi-Fi Postscript: Culture War Thwarts Black Entrepreneur

We wanted to add an epilogue to a local controversy this week wherein the effort to reclaim history by way of good times and music was thwarted by the delicate sensibilities of  many lady soccer fans.

The basics . . .  

A Black-owned hifi lounge will no longer open at Current Landing in Kansas City, Missouri, after controversy over what the owner planned to name the lounge . . . Critics called the name of the lounge racist and insensitive.

Sundown HiFi was touted as a sensory-driven audio bar but outrage over the moniker prevented its debut. 

Social media reaction mostly served to highlight the tragic irony that culture war "sensitivities" precluded a young African-American businessman from realizing his vision and taking part in a taxpayer subsidized development project worth BILLIONS.

For context . . . 

Sundown towns were all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States practiced a form of segregation by excluding Black people (and sometimes other minority groups) through intimidation, violence, or local policies, enforcing a rule that they must leave town or remain indoors by sunset.

Accordingly, we turn to a local cultural critic who offers insight into the controversy and precursor for the name game debate: 

"But what I really wanted to get to is to remind locals of a fascinating precedent that unfolded in Kansas City more than two decades ago.

"In late 2002 and early 2003, a local caterer, who also happened to be Black, planned to open a restaurant in the 18th and Vine District called Strangefrut. She wanted to honor the cultural influence of the great jazz singer Billie Holiday, who had turned a provocative song about lynching—“Strange Fruit”—into a haunting protest. Hold on, went the outcry—interestingly, from mostly white members of the jazz community . . ."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Is Kansas City a "Sundown" Town? A Current Controversy Carries Echoes

More Than 20 Years Ago, a Planned Restaurant Fell Victim to a Language Spat