A midwife from Brooklyn, hoping to connect with new friends, has sparked a wave of criticism for attempting to host a dice game night in her community. Ellen Christie, 30, shared details about her monthly “Bunko Club” in a Facebook group dedicated to Bedford-Stuyvesant, when a social media troll accused her of fostering a “gentrified” space.
In her post, Christie, who is white, wrote, “Hello – I’m looking for a woman living in Bedford-Stuyvesant to join the Bunco Club! Bunko is a game of rolling dice (think Yahtzee!) and no skills are required.” This seemingly harmless invitation turned controversial when it was paired with a selfie of Christie and a group of mostly white women sitting together.
Instead of making connections, Christie was met with a furious backlash. Many accused her of hosting a “Coloraza Cee-lo Club,” citing a deeper history tied to dice games in predominantly Black neighborhoods like Bed-Stuy. Comments like “gentrified cee lo?!” and “The colonists are colonizing” flooded in.
Even though Bunko has its roots in working-class Britain from the 18th century, the game of CEE-LO reportedly found its way to the United States through Chinese laborers. Dice have a long history, dating back thousands of years, with evidence found in ancient civilizations such as Greece, Rome, Egypt, and China.
Christie, who launched the Bunko Club in February with hopes of mingling with local women, saw her post quickly gaining over 100 angry responses, prompting her to withdraw it. The negativity intensified after screenshots of her original invitation circulated.
One commenter expressed, “All the effort to remove your post and educate is colonial violence,” while another declared, “Dice games are literally genocide.” Some suggested her intentions were sinister, questioning whether a white-only club in Bed-Stuy could ever be seen as welcoming to people of color.
Yet, Christi made it clear that there were no exclusive requirements for joining the club. Her posts included inquiries like, “Do you live in Bedstuy?” and “Why would you want to join this club?” She also asked for a social media link but noted it was optional.
Despite the backlash, Christie’s earlier posts about her Bunco Club back in May had gone unnoticed without incident. A local activist, Janessa Wilson, who focuses on calling out perceived bad behavior by white residents, refrained from commenting further about the situation, instead stating, “No one is safe from someone who isn’t ‘they’.”
Meanwhile, Christie works as a midwife at a medical center serving a traditionally Black area in Jamaica, Queens. She has not responded to requests for comment, but previously shared insights about her commitment to advocating for reproductive health and positive perinatal outcomes during her education.
