Dress code bias is still the norm at Chicago bars
Although Mother's apologized, the battle for equality rages on
Some of you didn't get why the dress code -- which led to six Washington University students being banned from the Original Mother's bar on Rush Street -- sparked an outcry.
To recap, here's what happened:
The black students were told they could not enter the bar because of their baggy pants. After challenging the enforcement of the dress code, the students succeeded in getting the bar's management company to apologize, and to offer diversity training to its staff.
I wrote about it Tuesday, and several readers apparently missed the point.
Rich Taylor wrote:
"I've been denied entrance to bars because I happened to be wearing BOOTS. Nice Boots. Shirts without a collar. I took my money elsewhere."
Then Taylor went on to quote stats from the 2005 homicide report of the Chicago Police Department, detailing the murder rates, age of murder offenders and race of offenders.
I can't figure out what any of this has to do with allegations that Mother's has a discriminatory dress code.
Hopefully, Taylor isn't a police officer, because he seems to think that every black man who wears baggy pants deserves to be treated like a criminal.
As for "taking his money elsewhere," many African Americans stopped going to bars on Rush Street years ago because of this very situation.
But as you can see, the problem hasn't gone away.
Merrie Boyer, in the accounts-payable department at a Stickney company, wrote:
"If you dress like a thug you will be treated as a thug. It does not matter what color you are. When will [you] stop spreading racism by saying that only black men, women and children have it rough?"
Here's the problem with Boyer's logic:
She assumes that the young African-American males who were barred from Mother's were dressed like thugs.
As you can see from the photograph of the two students, the white Washington University student was wearing similar baggy pants. Yet this student didn't have a problem getting into the club.
I doubt if even Boyer can explain the difference.
To be fair, Rush Street bars are not the only establishments that have suspicious dress codes.
Antwon Jennings wrote:
"Lucky Strike on Illinois Street goes way beyond any of those bars. It includes wearing jerseys, colors and baggy jeans. Plenty of times I have been turned around from there because of my jeans. It was so crazy because the sign in the front of the bowling alley really stipulates so many different things from a cultural standpoint. What was so funny that night was it was a Hispanic kid telling me, 'You know how it is.'"
Lucky Strike's dress code states that the following are not permitted:
• Athletic wear, sweats or sports jerseys
• MC colors (motorcycle colors)
• Excessively baggy clothing (tuck-ins are not permitted)
• Sleeveless T-shirts
• Plain white T-shirts (short or long sleeve)
• Construction boots
• Headgear
• Chains
• Ripped or soiled clothing
Chris Logan, a manager at Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge at 322 E. Illinois, did not answer specific questions about the dress code.
Logan sent this statement by e-mail:
"Lucky Strike Lanes & Lounge is a fun and safe entertainment experience with an evening dress code policy for those 21 and over. It ensures guests are in appropriate attire for our upscale lounge atmosphere. It is applied in a fair, professional and evenhanded manner."
Interestingly enough, if you go to the bowling lane's Web site, the first photograph that pops up is that of a white woman bowling in a low-cut tank top and faded-looking jeans.
Frankly, Lucky Strike might as well have posted a sign saying: Urban African-American males not allowed.
Except for the construction boots, MC colors, and the ripped and soiled clothing, the dress code appears to be targeting this group.
After all, not too many young black men are into straight-legs.
Dress codes may be well-intended, but they can be easily misused.
The fact that allegations of blatant discrimination are still surfacing so long after the passage of laws that targeted discrimination shows that the battle for equality has not yet been won.
What happened at Mother's is not an isolated case.
In Chicago, it is the norm.