Queen and I had eaten dinner downtown one night and passed by the corner of 12th and Main, where the big Kresge's five-and-dime stood for most of the 20th century.
Queen became nostalgic for the chili dogs served at the store's popular lunch counter -- but her nostalgia was tempered with some bitterness. As a young girl in the 1950s, she was only permitted to sit at the "colored counter" in that store's luncheonette.
"Black people had to sit at the back in the downtown store. And at the Kresge's in Kansas City, Kansas, the white people sat up front and the section for black people was at the very back, near a door to the alley."Blacks weren't allowed to use the bathrooms in the department stores," she continued.
I asked about the movie theaters up and down the street.
"We couldn't sit any fucking place there! We had to go to our own theaters. The Gem in Missouri and the Princess in Kansas City, Kansas. This city was so segregated then, it's one of the reasons I had to get the hell out of here."
Bey did return in the 1980s and lived and performed here until permanently moving back to California several years ago. "These young kids today can't even imagine a restaurant being segregated into two parts for blacks and whites and that's a good thing," she said. "But I'll never forget it." I didn't have to live through it, but I promise I won't forget Queen's story.Showing 1-1 of 1
I have a different memory of Kresge's than the one Queen Bey mentioned. I can remember how exciting it was to be going down town, because before we came back home, we would end up getting a chili Dog at Kresge's. It was the thrill of our Christmas Shopping.
I am saying this because if we who lived back then, don't really tell our stories, young people will believe our life was a tragedy. Which disrespect how our parents busted their butts to raise us to be productive American citizens in a world that treated us like crap.
That story is not being told, in favor of showing how evil white people were.
Guess what, none of my brothers, sister, friends or relatives lived a drug life, became criminals or ended up in jail.
Now look at what we have since we integrated.
Remember Queen Bey said we had our own theaters and public facilities. What do we have now, the Power & Light district and security guard jobs?
So when you talk about the days gone by, let make sure we cover both sides. This is not to knock integration, this is just to say, integration was a one side of town event, which left the losing side a ghost town.
Peace!
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