Sadly, there are plenty of private clubs like this around the country that exclude membership based on race. I know that seems crazy, but it's still fairly prevalent and perfectly legal.
I grew up in a very affluent area of Oklahoma City called Nichols HIlls. My grandparents and parents were members of the Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club, which used to exclude minorities from becoming members. (I'm not sure if they still do, that why I'm using past tense -- hoping the club has evolved since the 90's!) I was a debutante and once attended a deb party at the Country Club. My then-boyfriend (who later became my husband) was Korean-American, and he accompanied me to the party. He was the only minority at the party, (comprised of hundreds of people), besides the waiter staff. At one point during the party, one of the other guests handed my then-boyfriend an empty wine glass, thinking he was a waiter (he was wearing a tux). We were both so stunned by this, but he handled it with grace and simply smiled and handed the glass to a waiter.
I do get really frustrated whenever I hear these stories of clubs that exclude people based on their race or gender, and I don't understand it at all. You'd think we'd be further along than this, but in reality there are pockets of our country that are still existing in the dark ages.
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Sadly, there are plenty of private clubs like this around the country that exclude membership based on race. I know that seems crazy, but it's still fairly prevalent and perfectly legal.
I grew up in a very affluent area of Oklahoma City called Nichols HIlls. My grandparents and parents were members of the Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club, which used to exclude minorities from becoming members. (I'm not sure if they still do, that why I'm using past tense -- hoping the club has evolved since the 90's!) I was a debutante and once attended a deb party at the Country Club. My then-boyfriend (who later became my husband) was Korean-American, and he accompanied me to the party. He was the only minority at the party, (comprised of hundreds of people), besides the waiter staff. At one point during the party, one of the other guests handed my then-boyfriend an empty wine glass, thinking he was a waiter (he was wearing a tux). We were both so stunned by this, but he handled it with grace and simply smiled and handed the glass to a waiter.
I do get really frustrated whenever I hear these stories of clubs that exclude people based on their race or gender, and I don't understand it at all. You'd think we'd be further along than this, but in reality there are pockets of our country that are still existing in the dark ages.
July 13, 2009 - 5:08pmThis Comment
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