[LINK] "'It's Like a Safari, and We're the Zebras'"

[rfmcdonald]

Jeremy Stahl's Slate article describing the apparently frequent and high-profile visits made by tour groups in New York City to the black churches of Harlem--to their services, no less--explores the boundaries of what's acceptable in cultural tourism and what's not. On the one hand, the visitors get to experience a key experience in African-American history and the proceeds from the visit help keep the churches open; on the other, the visits risk being profoundly voyeuristic experiences, even exploitative. It's well worth reading.

At least 60 of Harlem's 338 churches take part in the gospel sightseeing trade. Twenty-five years ago, the thought of sending visitors to Harlem for any reason was abhorrent to New York's tourism board. Now, thanks to all of the tourists in the pews, Harlem is one of the top places for international vacationers to visit in New York.

The church services—and the neighborhood itself—became mainstream attractions after the Harlem Chamber of Commerce realized it could tap into the mythical place that gospel and jazz music—and African-American worship services—hold in the minds of many foreigners. In the 1980s, Lloyd Williams, president of the chamber, went to Europe with former New York Secretary of State Basil Paterson—the father of the current governor—to promote Harlem as a tourist destination. "The further we got away from New York, the better the image of Harlem was," says Williams. French and German publications began covering Harlem tourism and the churches, encouraging more tourists to venture above 96th Street. Eventually the city's established tourism industry—the hotels, the guide books, the tourism board, and the guided bus tours—recognized the neighborhood's economic potential.

Since then, tourists have flocked to the churches by the busloads, sometimes as part of guided tours and sometimes individually on the advice of guidebooks, hotel concierges, travel agents, and friends. Many of the churches have well-developed systems for welcoming visitors, with special greeters at the doors and prominently displayed house rules forbidding flash photography, eating, drinking, shorts, and flip-flops. Ceremonies usually start at 11 a.m., and most visitors take in the choir performance and announcement portions of the service before departing prior to the start of the sermon.

[. . .]

When we were back on the bus, our tour guide, Sheila, asked if anyone had any questions. There was just one: "They weren't offended?" Frances Van Ewyle, an Australian, asked awkwardly. Sheila responded that these programs help churches fight against rising attrition by allowing them to renovate and grow—and that they enjoyed having the tourists as guests. But Frances, who had taken the "Sex and the City Tour" the day before and was directed to Harlem Spirituals by her hotel's concierge, told me that she still felt like an intruder and now questioned her decision to attend the service.

Of the dozens of tourists I spoke with, Frances' perspective came up only a couple of times. Filipe Lima, a 29-year-old Portuguese Catholic and a regular churchgoer, told me that he felt like a gatecrasher after having visited Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, which was packed when I visited in June and August—but with 80 percent of the seats occupied by tourists. His instinctive reaction was that the few remaining flock were being taken advantage of by the ministry.