Not so Nice at Night...

On Nov. 25th I posted a link to a story about bigotry in Boston's club scene. The Bean's own journalist extraordinaire, G. Valentino Ball takes an even deeper look at the issue in his article, The Velvet Rope of Prejudice, which appeared in the Boston Phoenix. At the December 8th meeting of Citizen's Committee on Boston's Future on NIGHTLIFE CLUBS, RESTAURANTS and Expanded MBTA Service, a lot of issues around licensing, policing, financing and sustaining establishments owned by and geared toward serving communities of color in Boston were raised. City Council President Michael Ross attended the meeting, as did a number of community leaders, business owners, activists and concerned citizens. The magnitude and scope of this issue are now more apparent than ever. It will take a serious, concerted effort with full collaboration from local politicians, activists, business-owners and citizens in order to make any real progress. I look forward to hearing what next steps the Citizen's Committee on Boston's Future will recommend that we take. In the meantime, we can all continue to inform ourselves about licensing law and we can be selective about where we choose to spend our nightlife dollars, in order to send the message that bigotry will not be tolerated in our city.


What do you think it will take to improve nightlife in Boston?