It was a toss up for my first blog entry between badly installed lace front wigs and overtly discriminatory establishments in Midtown and the Washington corridor. Since I put the "disgrace" front wigs on blast on my Facebook page I decided to go with this one. Ahhh, where to begin man. Open City, Blue Label, Citizen and The Drake.....we all know someone who has been turned away for being too dark at these places. I mean, it's crazy that this stuff is still going on in 2009. I've had conversations with doormen, police officers, even owners. And they all have a different lame excuse.
So let's share a couple of stories. Open City on Sundays is notorious. It's like they have a dark people quota that they can't go over. I've been denied 3 times on 3 separate occasions at Open City on a Sunday. I can't even believe I allowed myself to be denied after the 1st time. But those tipsy walks from Cyclone.............anyway. So the first time my jeans were too baggy.....ok, I can deal with that....cuz I like to sag a little. The second time it was a "private party" and I wasn't on the list....ok...you got me with that one. The 3rd time it was just a straight up no....!!! I was dressed right, on the list and he still just said, "you're not getting in." Needless to say I was thru right then. And I've heard countless other stories since then so I know I'm not the only one. I've even been offered a chance to meet the owners of Open City....who are Brown people, believe it or not. I didn't want to....their excuse was, "Oh it's that stupid bouncer that we have...." Whatever lady, you pay him....he does what you tell him to do...case closed.
But my favorite of all times is at The Drake. Wow.....they've actually done 2 classic moves. The first one was....a party of about 7....4 guys, 3 girls. Black and Hispanic mix....bouncer says that one of the girls' ID looked fake...so he said she couldn't come in. So the girl says, "F it I'll leave!" So we decide to let her go on home but the bouncer tells us, "Since her ID looks fake, no one in the party can go in..." WTF.....I mean just blatant shyt man...I'm getting upset all over again just writing this...
The other one involved my homegirls...about 8 of them. All bad chicks, fly, professional...know how to dress when they leave the house type of girls, ya know. One of them had already made reservations for her bday there, bottle service, the works. They get to the front...say the name on the reservation....the bouncer looks confused now. That *Oh damn, you're black* look. So he goes to check ID's...and he picks one girl and tells her that her ID is fake....does she have another form of ID. She's prepared for the bullshit...pulls out her debit card with her face and name on it. Now what...??? "This isn't gonna do" he says... Man, this girl is a Doctor...in the Medical Center Doctor.....what the fuk is she gonna be doing running around with a fake ID...??? Needless to say they almost ruined her bday.
Sooooooooo, the point is this. All those spots I've named, have allowed us to throw our "black" parties at their establishments at one time or another. It's cool for them to take our money...just when it's comfortable for them. When the white folks ain't there basically. So what are we to do is the real question? It's a tough situation. Some say, "just don't go there." And that's what I want to say too. But when I get tired of going to The Spot, Swagger, Esquire, Boudreaux's, E & J's, etc....and want to do something different, what do I do? I'm all for keeping an establishment's crowd, look, vibe, etc...at a certain level. But where do you draw the line? I'm not really looking for answers...I just want to start a discussion about it....because I know you've thought about it too...!!
*Two Fangas*
*Any Two'll Do*
So let's share a couple of stories. Open City on Sundays is notorious. It's like they have a dark people quota that they can't go over. I've been denied 3 times on 3 separate occasions at Open City on a Sunday. I can't even believe I allowed myself to be denied after the 1st time. But those tipsy walks from Cyclone.............anyway. So the first time my jeans were too baggy.....ok, I can deal with that....cuz I like to sag a little. The second time it was a "private party" and I wasn't on the list....ok...you got me with that one. The 3rd time it was just a straight up no....!!! I was dressed right, on the list and he still just said, "you're not getting in." Needless to say I was thru right then. And I've heard countless other stories since then so I know I'm not the only one. I've even been offered a chance to meet the owners of Open City....who are Brown people, believe it or not. I didn't want to....their excuse was, "Oh it's that stupid bouncer that we have...." Whatever lady, you pay him....he does what you tell him to do...case closed.
But my favorite of all times is at The Drake. Wow.....they've actually done 2 classic moves. The first one was....a party of about 7....4 guys, 3 girls. Black and Hispanic mix....bouncer says that one of the girls' ID looked fake...so he said she couldn't come in. So the girl says, "F it I'll leave!" So we decide to let her go on home but the bouncer tells us, "Since her ID looks fake, no one in the party can go in..." WTF.....I mean just blatant shyt man...I'm getting upset all over again just writing this...
The other one involved my homegirls...about 8 of them. All bad chicks, fly, professional...know how to dress when they leave the house type of girls, ya know. One of them had already made reservations for her bday there, bottle service, the works. They get to the front...say the name on the reservation....the bouncer looks confused now. That *Oh damn, you're black* look. So he goes to check ID's...and he picks one girl and tells her that her ID is fake....does she have another form of ID. She's prepared for the bullshit...pulls out her debit card with her face and name on it. Now what...??? "This isn't gonna do" he says... Man, this girl is a Doctor...in the Medical Center Doctor.....what the fuk is she gonna be doing running around with a fake ID...??? Needless to say they almost ruined her bday.
Sooooooooo, the point is this. All those spots I've named, have allowed us to throw our "black" parties at their establishments at one time or another. It's cool for them to take our money...just when it's comfortable for them. When the white folks ain't there basically. So what are we to do is the real question? It's a tough situation. Some say, "just don't go there." And that's what I want to say too. But when I get tired of going to The Spot, Swagger, Esquire, Boudreaux's, E & J's, etc....and want to do something different, what do I do? I'm all for keeping an establishment's crowd, look, vibe, etc...at a certain level. But where do you draw the line? I'm not really looking for answers...I just want to start a discussion about it....because I know you've thought about it too...!!
*Two Fangas*
*Any Two'll Do*
