They go by buzzwords such as “grown folks night”, “an intelligent affair”, “bachelors degree or above” and other semi-elitist yet clever names. The flyers show Stock Photography of business people mixing it up at a bar, the women in dresses, the men business casual. What am I going on about? Well it’s the soirees made to bring College educated black professionals together for mixing, mingling, dating and I’m guessing “networking”.

I am not sure why I have such distaste for these things, being that I am of their target audience, but when I see statements like “grown and sexy” I immediately lose interest. It’s the tone, and having owned a business and dealt with some of these so-called “hustlers” and “go-getters” who turned out to be broke, College educated, scam artists, I just don’t hold the degree element to any kind of standard outside of: okay so you went to college.

Many college grads receive an empty degree, this paper that many people hold as a major accomplishment in life. Depending on circumstances and history for some it is a major accomplishment and I tip my hat to those of you who have managed to attain it. I take issue with parties that pretend that having a degree will somehow strain the riffraff from attendance. Let me be honest promoters in all my years of Clubbing, the most offensive, misogynistic, drunken bull that I have witnessed came from College people. On the other end, some of the greatest entrepreneurs that I have had the pleasure to hang out and do business with skipped out on the four years of Financial Aid, Grants and Student Loans. How does this make you feel about your “bachelor’s degree or better” parties? Do people actually feel special going to them because they qualified?

While I may seem as if I regret being a part of the “A Bachelor Degree or better”, my cynicism is based on the reality of knowing may degree holders who wear it as a badge of honor while pretending to live like non-degree holders who are swimming in money. Speaking to successful alma-maters of my school it seems to be a shared sentiment amongst the financially enlightened. We don’t do “Grown Folks Night” because it gives off a pretentious vibe.

While some folks get off on being around people who have the reputation of money, some of us would rather be their peers in that respect. Success and a degree are not necessarily bedmates just like check-to-check and lacking a degree aren’t always the same.

I would love to see the titles of these parties change from the exclusion of non-Degree holders to something that promotes the excitement and beauty in sharing ideas and connecting with like-minded individuals. Most of us aren’t entrepreneurs and most of us aren’t high up in some Corporate structure. Neither of these titles make you any better than Ben the handyman who has bought Stock towards retirement and will be sipping tea on a boat at 45, while you are printing out reports for Chip in order to keep paying for your Mercedes Benz. We’re all in this together, degree or non-degree, you may fool those who don’t know but I know all too well, and I will never attend your party until you correct the guest list.

Written by Greg Dragon on Tuesday, July 20, 2010 

Filed under A Touch of Class, Clubs and Partying, People are Strange
Tagged with bachelors, bar, business, grown and sexy, reality