Posted on 05/21/2003 4:11:50 AM PDT by kattracks
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The NAACP claims in two lawsuits that Myrtle Beach authorities and a hotel discriminate against blacks during a biker rally held each Memorial Day weekend along the South Carolina coast.
The group said it also was filing a complaint with the state's Human Affairs Commission, alleging more than two dozen restaurants in the Myrtle Beach area closed last year to avoid serving blacks. Some of the restaurants named, including Denny's and Red Lobster, said they were open.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and 18 people filed the lawsuits Tuesday in federal court in Florence. They allege that bikers participating in the Atlantic Beach Bikefest are treated differently than the predominantly white bikers at the Carolina Harley-Davidson Dealers Association Myrtle Beach Rally held a week earlier.
The lawsuits accuse city officials and the hospitality industry of trying to discourage black bikers from visiting in part out of "a fear that the festival would create an image that Myrtle Beach is a 'black beach' in the eyes of white tourists."
The lawsuit says the city's tactics include adding police officers and increasing the number of one-way streets, causing congestion and making black bikers feel unwelcome.
City spokesman Mark Kruea dismissed the accusation as "absurd" and said traffic control policies are determined by the size of crowds.
The Harley-Davidson rally draws about 200,000 people to the 60-mile stretch from Georgetown to the North Carolina state line. The black biker rally draws as many as 350,000 bikers, he said.
The lawsuit against the Yachtsman Resort Hotel said the hotel charges more during the Bikefest, and guests are made to sign contracts not required at other times.
The hotel's general manager, Tom Gardiner, said Tuesday he had not yet seen the lawsuit and could not comment in detail.
"We feel our practices and procedures have been fair and similar to what we do at other times of the year," he said.
Both lawsuits seek injunctions to stop the alleged discrimination and unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
There are many surrounding towns that offer the convenience of being close to MB without actually living there. The new highway construction seems to have helped solve the congestion - except on Ocean Blvd where the "main drag" is. Personally, living in my area of SE NC is an asset because I can visit almost any regional coastal attraction within 30 min to an hour.
"It is said that they roll into town with no respect and no consience."
In some areas of MB, if you're bringing your family - BBW would be a disaster for you to subject them to. I'll personally not ever go back on MDW as long as there is a BBW at MB.
But, please don't think this is an attack on the locals, as they will treat you fine - if you behave yourself. It's a shame they have to resort to this to protect themselves and their property while the thugs at the NAACP refuse to recognize where the real problem is.
Now that's a good question...We must activate to legislate!
LOL. I agree. Groups like the NAACP and NOW and Martha Burk's femi-Nazi organization should disband. These looney-tune idiots are grasping for straws to drum up support.
I found it humorous that one of their complaints is the traffic patterns were changed. How in the hell does that not affect white bikers just like it does black bikers?
Yup, there's some slim pickin's in the Race-baiting world now-days.
SHAKEDOWN!
Had they behaved themselves in the past it would not be a problem.
I'll admit, this is the first I've heard of the problem. I knew there were some black bikers out there, but the ones I've seen locally (the guys with Harleys or custom-built scooters) just hang out with the other guys of similar interest, be they white, hispanic, asian or whatever. Same thing with the hot rod folks - the common interest does more to unite than to divide along racial lines.
That said, I have seen far more blacks on sport bikes than on Harleys. There are two or three informal clubs (that sounds a bit better than "gangs") around town - all the members of which ride the exact same model crotch-rocket, in different paint colors with matching helmets, of course. They remind me of the "Car Acrobatic Team" from the old Speed Racer cartoon. Menacing, but in a strangely geeky sort of way.
Myrtle Beach sounds like it has the worst parts of Sturgis and "Black Spring Break" to contend with.
Paging Bill O'Reilly.
Yeah, That's for sure...back in '98, Mem. Day...going to Holden Beach,NC...>4-hr. traffic jam @ NC border, too HELL w/the Racists organizers.
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