Reprinted from BLACK ENTERPRISE Magazine
Copyright information is located at the bottom of the sidebar.
Reprinted from BLACK
ENTERPRISE Magazine
Copyright information is located at the bottom of the sidebar.
"Are You Game
For Bid Whist"
Here’s how black professionals turn cards into contacts.
by: MONIQUE R. BROWN
| Whenever I have a social affair
at the house, there is always a contingent of people who say, ‘Let’s play
whist," says Roland MacFarland, vice president of standards for the Fox Television
Network. "And there are probably eight people waiting to play the winners." MacFarland and his colleagues are caught up in the excitement of bid whist. The card game has been a tradition of African Americans since slavery, according to research by Angel Beck. She writes the only syndicated bid whist column in the nation (for more information, e-mail her at a7notrump@aol.com )and is the author of How to Play Bid Whist (Zwita Productions, Box 112486, Stamford, CT 06911, $6.95). "It started from slaves when they developed their own adaptation of the card games they saw the white folks playing, primarily bridge and whist," she says. And contrary to popular belief, Beck says, black professionals are this pastime’s biggest fans. "Like golf, it’s a setting where networking, business opportunities and transactions are made," she contends. "In my profession, I have met individuals, made deals and [established] contacts over a game of bid whist," says MacFarland. Last year, MacFarland played in a celebrity bid whist tournament at the San Diego Black Film Festival, where he ran a "Boston" (see sidebar). "Playing against [actor-director] Bill Duke, who bragged all night long about how good he was, was the highlight of the night," MacFarland laughs. But the chairman of the Black Film Festival believes their social meeting will result in some professional benefits as well. "He [Bill Duke] says he is going to spread the news [about the festival], and I think he is going to bring [a film] next year," MacFarland says. "He established what he felt were solid, more genuine relationships, and that was a result of playing bid whist with us." |
Several professional organizations such as the
National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People, sponsor scholarship bid whist tournaments at their conferences. Bid
whist is also at the center of an annual fund-raiser for the Friends of Lincoln Foundation
Inc., based in Tallahassee, Florida. It sponsors the largest bid whist tournament in the
nation every July, and boasts about 72 players and 300 observers. "I’m amazed at
the interest. We didn't have a budget for the marketing or advertising, so a lot of
it was word of mouth," says Mack Rush, a member of the organization’s National
Bid Whist Tournament Committee. "Most of our participants are professional
folk…[Bid whist] is definitely bigger than a coincidental rent party, and it always
has been. Our tournament is a way to raise funds for the foundation." But bid whist is more than a vehicle for fund-raising or socializing. Black professionals continue to slam cards, brag about their stellar hands and give each other high fives because they have fun. The players and observers are able to shed their professional armor—if only for a few hands--and be accepted. "This is one of the attributes of the game" MacFarland suggests. "You can walk with kings and not lose the common touch of playing bid whist." And after "church is out" (see sidebar), everyone returns to their respective environments and personalities. Most important, they've made a connection. "Once you see that side of a person, it’s easier for you to interact with them from that point on," says MacFarland. Are you ready to try your hand at this card game? Start by connecting with the bid whist division of the National Card Sharks Association.
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SIDEBAR
Winning Words Of Whist
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