Critical Race Theory, Nelly, and How Law Still Aids and Abets Racial Bias

Nelly has created controversy before with his "Tip Drill" video but a recent controversy in Branson shows how folks can use law and other administrative maneuvers based on what appears to be racialized motives. According to a local news story (see http://www.news-leader.com/article/20100728/NEWS01/7280441/Appeal-for-outdoor-Nelly-show-rejected), the local government rejected a number of permits to have the outdoor concert. From what I can tell reading the articles while this drama has unfolded, the main issues under discussion are noise, traffic, parking, and space. There may also be an issue regarding non-union musicians here as Nelly and his band are not members of the local musician's union. However, it certainly appears that hip-hop, the likely age and race of the audience, and people's preconceived notions about hip-hop also seem to be playing the biggest part.

There are three salient points that critical race theorists have been making for a while-

(1) Hip-hop acts still struggle to negotiate the business end of live music and there is certainly a much greater cost for them to do business than other music acts. Everything from getting insurance to getting permits seems to cost more money for hip-hop acts.

(2) It appears that hip-hop is being used as a proxy for race. Many participants (especially the comment section to the article) seem to assume that a hip-hop concert will bring in a primarily or even exclusively black audience and that this audience will likely cause trouble.

(3) It appears that local business leaders are using facially race-neutral rules to enforce a de facto ban on hip-hop and to attack what they presume will be an unusually racially mixed crowd for Branson.

While none of this is surprising, it is disappointing to see this happening in my own backyard.