[Old School Hound]

Corbin is playing host this week to the All-A State Basketball Tournament at The Arena.  But is Corbin the venue we want hosting this competition? I say, sure, why not? Read on...

Cactus Jack made the point that outsiders wouldn't be surprised to see a cross burning at one of our three hotels in town. Actually, Corbin has many more hotels than that. I know back when I was in college, it was a fact that Corbin had more hotel rooms than any other city of its size in the entire United States. That might still be true or it might not. As to Jack's point that outsiders wouldn't be surprised to see a cross burning, he's probably right about that being an outsider's perspective. But is that perspective legitimate? Read on...

Let's face it, this Shitty little town is the scourge of the entire SE United States, and the most racist little town in America... Right?  Well... not so fast, my friends. I've lived here since the early 60's, my grandparents and great-grandparents, since before the turn of the 20th century. Yes, Corbin, has a racist past. For those who aren't aware, about 200-300 black men, women, and children were rounded up and forced , at gunpoint, onto trains, and shipped out of town on rail cars headed for Knoxville or Louisville on the night of October 30, 1919. My pawpaw turned 6 years old on that very day.  For the better part of a century, blacks never returned to Corbin, out of fear of being victims of similar racist violence. In fact, up until about 2000, Corbin was still cited on many lists as a "Sundown" town, a place where, if you have black skin, you better stay clear of this town when the sun goes down. I know some black folks who, to this day, will not travel through Corbin after dark. Is the fear warranted?... Read on.

When I was in college at EKU in Richmond, I met a young freshman who had just come to America a few months before from Saudi Arabia. He was taking a math course and found out that I tutored students in the subject so he contacted me and asked if I would come over to his apartment and work with him in math. I agreed. I went over and met him. We hit it off and he made me some of his favorite Saudi tea and told me about the town he was from and that his dad had three wives and was about to add a fourth. He asked me where I was from and I told him I was from Corbin.  He said," hmm ,  Corbin... I've heard of that. Isn't that where that KKK is located?"  Here's a guy who'd been in America for , like, two months and had already equated my sleepy little village with the Ku Klux Klan. Is this fair? Read on...

So, does Corbin deserve the bad rap(no pun intended) it gets for being a hostile little hamlet for black folks? Sure, October 30, 1919 happened. It was definitely a black eye(no pun intended, again) for the town but , all that summer in 1919 was called "Red Summer" because of the race riots all across the country, particularly the Midwest. Blacks were victims of violence in a lot of towns in 1919 and were run out of a lot of towns, not just Corbin. Does Corbin have plenty of racist folks living within it's borders? Damn right, it does!!! Hell, there was a documentary made about Corbin back in the early 1990's called "Trouble Behind" that has been shown in university sociology classes all over the country. One of my former neighbors, who was nicknamed the " town historian," was interviewed in the documentary. The old dude had a little black dog for a pet. You know what he named that dog? You probably guessed right--- he named his little dog "N****r."   Jeff Kyle also appears in the documentary. He was a black athlete from Middlesboro(one of the best ever) who moved to Corbin in the summer of '82 to play football for the Hounds. Jeff was also a star basketball player. He practiced with the team during the summer after moving from Middlesboro. But some folks decided having a black player on the team wasn't a good idea , Jeff went back to Middlesboro, where he played and starred for his senior season.

Back to sporting events, like the All-A State State Tournament. Should a former "Sundown" town like Corbin be hosting statewide athletic competitions where a lot of black kids would be required to come to a town with a history of violence against blacks?  As I'm sure you've already discerned, I am being quite facetious in this post. I've been to many CFIT BB tournaments over the years(probably 30 or more) , where many teams with almost all black rosters were invited to participate. I've also been to a number of 13th Region tournaments at CHS and at the Arena. I've never seen the black kids being subjected to any kind of mistreatment , in any way. Are there racists in attendance who would like to see the black kids beaten down by the white kids, or even wish the black kids weren't allowed to participate?  Of course.  But don't you bet there are just as many racists in attendance in every gymnasium and in every town in this state?

Look, Corbin messed up in 1919 and Corbin continues to mess up from time to time.  Remember the two Corbin High School BB players a few years ago who stupidly recorded a video from a local restaurant after a big win over Knox Central(who had several stud black players), saying that they had "put the monkeys back in their cages." Corbin was supposed to play Louisville Doss later that season at Gilliam Gym but Doss refused to come to Corbin, because of the fear of a hostile environment. Corbin's all-time leading scorer was suspended because of the incident (rightly so) , missing out on the opportunity to become the state's #2 all-time leading scorer.  And, remember the picture of the white CHS students who had a noose around the neck of a black student in a classroom?  These are dreadful incidents that only serve to  exacerbate the perception that Corbin is a racist community. I maintain that these kind of incidents are not isolated to 
my tiny hamlet in SEKY. These incidents occur everywhere. These kind of thoughts are held by people everywhere. Whether it's Harlan, Manchester, Pikeville, Richmond, or Bowling Green, prejudiced thoughts, actions, and incidents take place every single day. You just don't here about them like you do when it happens in Corbin. Corbin has the reputation(and that reputation was earned) and hence people are quick to point to Corbin as the poster child for a racist community.

There are some very $hitty and disgusting people in Corbin, from the Mayor, politicians , coaches, on down. But , in my opinion, it's no different in any other town in this state, or in the country. Contrary to what former SC Governor, Nimarata Nikki Randhawa, recently said, our country is a VERY racist country, has ALWAYS been a very racist country, and probably(and unfortunately) will always be a racist country. Hell, our Founding, Philandering Fathers OWNED black people.  TJ owned more than 600.  How dare anyone say we've never been a racist country!  With all it's many warts(and there many), including the race riots of 1919. Corbin is, in this writer's opinion, no more racist than Manchester, Hazard, McKee, Barbourville, or any other small town in this part of the state, or country, for that matter.  What we observe can be observed anywhere else in America. As Rod Serling once wrote for one of his Twilight Zone  episodes, "People are the same all over." Yes, Rod. Yes they are. 

So, as the city of Corbin hosts the All-A State Basketball Tournament this week, give the town some props. It has a nice, beautiful venue(albeit, better for concerts than basketball) to take in some games, and Cumberland Falls is just down the road if you enjoy walking some nice scenic trails and lodging near the Falls. Or go to the north end of town and have a meal at the site of the country's very first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant(Harlan Sanders Cafe & Museum), where Sanders first developed his famous recipe in the 1940's. He also shot a man during an argument over his signs, as well. Better yet, journey to historic downtown Corbin while you're here and see the statue to Corbin's most famous resident and pedophile, the lily white Colonel Sanders. While you might see a stoic Sanders etched in stone downtown, you won't see any crosses being burned out front of the Holiday Inn Express. Although, I have a couple of neighbors who are more than capable of cross burning, But I bet you have similar neighbors in your town, as well. You probably even have an old racist uncle like I do.

One thing that you will never hear from any residents or business owners while you are frequenting our establishments this week is something that you will only hear from Old School. Corbin takes pride in being the town where Colonel Sanders lived and began his first restaurant but there is never a mention that Corbin was also the home of a lady by the name of Reba Jeanette Smith. I knew her parents, Walter B and Alma, who lived very close to me growing up. Reba would go on to become Debbie Dean, the very first WHITE solo recording artist to be signed by Berry Gordy at Motown Records.  The town builds a monument to a nasty-tempered pedophile but all that exists in the town that bears the name of Reba Jeanette Smith("Debbie Dean") is a small marker in an isolated corner of Pine Hill Cemetery on the east end of town.  Wonder why ???   AND NOW YOU KNOW...THE REST OF THE STORY !!!

Btw, I won't have the opportunity to see any of the games today. If was gonna watch any of them, I'd want to see the kid from Lyon County, and future Wildcat, Travis Perry. The kid can really shoot the rock. I would have liked to have seen Williamsburg perform better but I knew they wouldn't have much of a chance. My guess is that Lyon will easily waltz to the title, as they are, BY FAR, the best team in the field. But, as we all know, THE BEST TEAM DOESN'T ALWAYS WIN !!!    And so it goes...  from Old School to your school.