NEWS / MONDAY, MARCH 22, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
NIGHT LIFE
Lawrence bars host 'Family Night'
Teller's becomes the newest local business to show support for LGBT community
Daniel Johnson/KANSAN
Joe Lauer, a junior from Strong City, left. minings at Teller's Family Night. This weekly event is popular among members of the IGBT community.
BY STEPHANIE GREEN
editor@kansan.com
Family Night, commonly referred to as Pride Night, gives members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community a chance to mingle in a welcoming environment. The name "Family Night" is open to interpretation, but the use of "family" generally refers to showing support for the LGBT community regardless of sexual orientation.
Teller's, 746 Massachusetts St., recently became the newest Lawrence business to host a weekly Family Night.
Julia Peterson, general manager, organized the restaurant's first successful Family Night in February after a failed attempt in 1993 because of a lack of interest. Peterson said her roommate suggested hosting a family night at Teller's to appeal to an older crowd since other bars were geared toward a younger crowd.
"Older generations of the LGBT community were looking for a nicer, cleaner, more upscale environment to get together and form a community," Peterson said.
But Peterson said Family Night is a successful way to raise bar sales on otherwise slow Monday nights.
"It gets people in the building more often and the more often they are here, they are more likely to come back on days other than Monday." Peterson said.
Henry's on Eighth, 11 E. 8th St., and Wilde's Chateau 24, 2412 Iowa St., also host Family Night once a week. Henry's first started its Fami- Night eight years ago and Chateau opened its doors last year.
Henry's co-owner David Boulter said customers went back and forth between Teller's and Henry's because they knew these establishments had a "relaxed and welcoming atmosphere for a variety of people."
Boulter said he hoped his bar would not only be fun, but also provide a place to prepare all sexual orientations for the real world.
"The entire world is made up of every kind of person; people need to realize that to feel comfortable in different situa
tions," Boulter said.
Wilde's Chateau 24,
which opened in early 2009,
hosts Family
Night every
Wednesday.
It is a popular
location with
its large dance
floor, live music
and queer suppo
and queer support
money and provide information about safe-sex practices.
Queers and Allies started in 1970 and now has more than 200 members. Student Senator for Queers and Allies Sonja Heath said that it was important to host theme
"The entire world is made up of every kind of person; people need to realize that to feel comfortable in different situations."
Once a month, KU's Queens and Allies hosts theme nights to raise
DAVID BOULTER
Henry's co-owner
nights so people in the community would be informed while having fun.
pate in," Heath said.
"Our past themes have ranged from a prom theme to a carnival theme. We want to choose something people would partici-
Boulter said he thought Family Night had not been offered at other
businesses because they were afraid it would drive away some customers and be labeled a "gay bar."
"People have been skeptical about it. They think they might lose their main crowd that aren't comfortable associating with them," Boulter said.
Boulter said Family Night welcomes all people regardless of sexual orientation, but tolerance of people's differences is a must.
Emily Garins, a senior from Leawood, said her friends introduced her to the Chateau because they knew she liked to dance. Garins said she enjoyed the Chateau because it was a friendly establishment where people felt welcomed.
"The Chateau gives everyone a chance to be themselves. There are no niches like other bars," Garins said.
Edited by Becky Howlett
POLITICS
Obama's agenda still garners black support
BY JESSE WASHINGTON
Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In this banking center walloped by the Great Recession, where unemployment just hit a 20-year high and as many as one in three black people are out of work, blacks could easily be frustrated with President Barack Obama's insistence that a rising economic tide for all will lift African-American boats.
The drum-
Yet despite surging discontent among some black advocates over Obama's refusal to specifically target rising black unemployment, it's hard to find average black folks here who disagree with the president's approach.
"He has been addressing the black agenda as far as health care, education, all that," said Tamera Gomillion, a bill collector who has
"It took eight years to get into this mess, so it's going to take time to get us out," she said. "I voted for him, and I'll do it again."
The drumbeat for Obama to embrace a black agenda grew loudest Saturday, when PBS host Tavis Smiley convened a public meeting of prominent black activists and intellectuals in Chicago to demand policies tailored to the needs of blacks who have been hit disproportionately hard by the recession.
activists and the Congressional Black Caucus who once were the voice of black America.
Obama has refused from the beginning of his candidacy to separate the solutions to black America's economic problems from the country's at large. After he settled into his presidency, this stance placed him at odds with
"It took eight years to get into this mess, so it's going to take time to get us out"
But now, "nobody can go to Obama and say, 'This is what African-Americans want,'" said David Bositis, an expert on black politics at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.
TAMERA GOMILLION bill collector
He called the debate an "awkward moment" for the CBC: "All of a sudden, there's someone else who represents African-Americans more, if you go by what African-Americans say, than they do".
That certainly seemed to be the case in the Charlotte metropolitan area, which is 30 percent black and had a 12.8 percent overall unemployment rate in January. Charlotte's huge black turnout was crucial to Obama barely winning North Carolina in 2008, the first Democrat to do so since 1976.
Interviews with two dozen
tion. His emphasis on health care and education will greatly help blacks. Black people should take responsibility for solving their own problems.
And when 2012 comes, they plan to vote for Obama again.
"He's got bigger fish to fry" than a black agenda, said Beth James Davis, a marketing executive, as she ate dinner in a restaurant near downtown with her husband and two young children. "I'm not saying our fish isn't big, but he's got more important battles."
African Americans last week revealed common themes: Obama is correct to focus on the needs of all Americans. It's too soon to condemn him for inac
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