Racism at Harper's Ferry?
By adamg - Sun, 11/18/2007 - 10:37pm.
On Basstown, Etan posts an explanation for why a hip-hop show at Harper's Ferry this past Tuesday suddenly got cancelled:
... After answering a few questions to the sound guy about their setup, "we need two DI-boxes, two mics, etc.", the sound guy commented, "that's why you need a white guy in your crew." Matt, baffled at the absurdity of the comment, asked the sound guy to repeat himself, to which he replied by not only repeating the comment, but going on to say, "you know, we hired 6 [mumbled racist slur] in the past few months and they're all outta here!" ...
So the group refused to play, especially since the club manager only offered to send the sound guy home, not fire him.
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There is no excuse for this
There is no excuse for this kind of behavior. Racism should never be tolerated. They did the right thing by packing up and going home.
I'm really sorry to hear
I'm really sorry to hear this. I used to frequent Harper's Ferry back in the day -- 15 years ago or so. It was always a welcoming place, with artists and customers of many colors. How sad...
harpers
i hope one stupid comment by one stupid person is not going to ruin the integrity of an allston landmark.over the years harpers has been very friendly to musicians from all over the world.ive seen everything in there from hardcore punk to reggae to bo diddley!people are stupid.hopefully this was one idiot and an isolated incident.
Oh the Irony!
Harpers Ferry was where the radical abolitionist John Brown made his famous stand.
Did they sing John Brown's Body before they left the scene?
Obviously on the condition
Obviously on the condition of anonymity I can assure you that the sound guy has been fired.
harpers ferry racism
I've known the soundman in question for the past 20 years.Myself and
all the other sound company owners who have employed him will attest to the fact that he is not a racist. Most of us in fact were sending him
to jobs with crews that were culturally diverse, to clients that spanned many differentraces/cultures /and creeds. The story Etan tells
is truly disgusting,but it's not true. Harpers did fire the soundman
in question,but they did so on the word of one person in the band and
never asked him(soundman) for his version of what transpired that day.
Many of my friends and I believe that the band (who played a gig in Jamaica Plain that night) wanted out of the Harpers gig,so they invented a reason to leave, with no regard for the soundman. I've spoken to him since the incident and he's crushed--he can't believe
he's lost everything, all over a lie from one person he met for one brief moment
C'mon, rappers wouldn't lie!
Yes...hard as it may be to believe, certain minority members will lie & make false claims of racism because they know how horrified their well-meaning white sympathizers will be. I suppose by making this simple statement I will now be accused of racism too by those very people.
I don't know about this particular situation, only that I've seen whites walked out of jobs, churches, committees, etc, with no hearing, all because of one person's uncontested accusation.
Harpers isn't Harpers Anymore
I remember the days when the staff at Harpers Ferry was really supportive and treated every musician that entered the place with respect & courtesy. That positive vibes and the people that came religiously every week were what made Harpers the best club in Boston. It was an honor to perform there for such a discerning music-loving audience and the staff & audience appreciated the musicians as much as the musicians appreciated Harpers. I'm sorry to say that's no longer the case. This one incident is not an isolated phenomenon. I just played Harpers last week and I can attest first-hand that there isn't a single pleasant person working there and it seems to me that is a directive coming from the new owners. They treat the musicians like second-class citizens across the board and even treat the patrons poorly. They also drastically undercount the heads in the audience so that they steal from every act that comes through there. It's criminal that they ruined the best live music club in Boston and doubly-ironic that they have a name paying homage to John Brown. The slavemasters have taken over the abolition movement. You can count this one musician as one that will never step foot in Harpers again.