Discrimination masked by talented young women.
Kilgore Tx, a town that has passed its prime but still holds much charm was once one of America's great oil boom-towns, home of the world's richest acre. 75 years ago Killgore College the Jr college in this little Texas town struck gold in a more metaphorical sense. Seeing the challenge of a town built around the male-dominated oil industry a new fine art form was introduced to attract a different type of person to Kilgore. Introducing the Kilgore Rangerettes. A group of young women who are top dance drill members who come together for two intense years of study sprinkled with high profile performances and football half time shows. When this concept was born in 1939 it was the birth of an art form that has grown in popularity throughout the world.
Last evening I had the opportunity to go watch the Rangerettes perform and their talent was apparent but equally apparent was the discrimination happening within the drill team, the community and the college.
Gregg county where Kilgore College is located has about 22% of its population identifying as African American, about 15% who identify as Hispanic, 1% who identify as other and the remaining are identified as Caucasian. As with most of the United States, about 51% of the population is women and 49% men.
The KC Rangerettes are comprised of approximately 60 members, 2 coaches/ directors, 7 choreographers and 6 mangers. Of these 70+ individuals 2 maybe 3 would be identified as African American. No directors, no choreographers and no dancers were male, all of the managers were.
While this composition and inequality within the Rangerettes performance a larger level of discrimination has me truly upset and disgusted with our society that turns a blind eye.
Pictured below is the Rangerettes on-campus housing.
And here is Athletic on-campus housing. The KC football team has approximately 60 members 43 of whom would be identified as African American
The photos can't capture the difference, on the street where the Rangerettes reside, practice and perform the landscaping is well maintained and aesthetically pleasing, the street is repaired, the sidewalks clear of debris. Less than 5 blocks away the football team lives in on a street that has little landscaping, poorly maintained roads, and debris is left on the sidewalks.
This entire situation is a problem, inequality and discrimination are occurring daily at this local Jr College as the administrative staff and the community that supports them allow for policies to prevails that create such dramatic divides between groups of people.
