Econo Lodge Motel In Northern Florida Accused Of Racism

(Pay attention to the below post. I once read the book “Sundown Towns”. This book is very deep but very hard to read. This post talks about the experience of being Black while within one.)

Sundown Towns were locations throughout the United States where the unwritten (and sometimes written) rule was, Black people must be out of the area after 6 o’clock, or “sundown”. Most of these Sundown Towns were prevalent during the Jim Crow era. And many places in America still have sundown rules for Black Americans today.

This week, a group of about 90 adults and teens from Flint Michigan were wrapping up a college tour. On their way back to Flint, their bus had mechanical issues. They ended up spending the night at the Econo Lodge in Live Oak, Florida.

Coordinator Blake Odum says right after dinner is when the trip took a much different and disturbing tone.

“It was owned by white people. And they started taking pictures of all the kids as we were walking in and out of the hotel,” said student Melissa Blacque.

“I heard one of the ladies, she said, ‘If I see one more of them, I’m calling the law,'” Odum said.

Blacque says the students were peaceful, but felt uncomfortable at the hotel.

“They were calling us the N word and called Blake the N word. We were just like ‘whoa,'” Blacque said.

Odum says things felt so tense that to avoid any trouble; he tried to be proactive by calling police. When police arrived, they told the group to stay in their rooms for the night. Odum says the officer left him with a chilling message.

“The officer pulled me to the side and said, ‘You know, I just want to let you know this area right off the interstate, people aren’t too accommodating to you all.’ And he said, ‘If you know what I mean.’ I said, ‘Black people?’ And he said, ‘Yeah,'” Odum said.

The students claimed that overnight, the staff antagonized them. The group says they were told to check out the next morning immediately at 10.

As they left, that’s when Odum says tensions reached a boiling point, when he says he heard the manager say, “‘We’re going to get these Niggers off our property.’ And I was blown back by that,” Odum said.

Watch the video below. –Melanoid Nation Blogger (April 17, 2015)

(You can view more videos from this channel here.

Also, you can click James Loewen's, the author of "Sundown Towns", link to see the states so you can check and see where there are possible sundown towns within your state.)

(Disclosure: This website may be compensated for sales of products linked to.)

(If you enjoyed this post, then please consider subscribing to stay up-to-date with my latest postings and sharings. Also, please share and support Worldly Game.)