While some are still debating Morehouse College’s New Dress Code Policy as being an act of discrimination, there are also Washington University students who have experienced being unfairly targeted because of their dress and even barred from a Chicago nightspot under the guise of a “baggy jeans” policy. In case you are naive enough to think that having a Black president means that racism has been eradicated, check out this email I received yesterday about an experiment done by a group of Black WU students that proved a venue they were visiting in Chicago was discriminating against Black students while White students who dressed in similar attire were allowed entry:

Hello ATLien,

Could you please post the following news story on your blog? I know this is not what you normally write about, but I think this is a really important civil rights issue.

Six of my friends at WashU experienced a despicable act of racial discrimination about a week ago in Chicago. Six black males and about 200 of their peers went on Washington University in St. Louis’s senior class trip to Chicago. On the evening of 10/17/09, the group went to Mother’s Bar and the bouncers denied entrance to all six of the African-American males. Their justification? The bar managers claimed that the boys were wearing “baggy jeans” that violated the establishment’s dress code.

Regis Murayi, one of the banned students and treasurer of the Senior Class Council, did an experiment to see if the bouncers were really trying to regulate the dress code or if they were indeed racists. Regis went back to the hotel that the group was staying at and switched jeans with a white student, Jordan, who is about 3 inches shorter and 30-40lbs lighter than him. Jordan went back to the bar and was allowed in.

If you look at the pictures, the jeans are quite baggy on Jordan! Please post the following articles from Student Life, our campus newspaper, and CNN for details about the story and the experiment the boys did to prove that this was an issue of racial discriminaton and not a mere dress code violation.

According to CNN, a rep for the Original Mother’s Bar stated it was security concerns, not racism, which guided the decision but a day later, a bar representative told a Chicago paper that the club was taking the issue “very seriously” and conducting an internal investigation. The rep also stated that disciplinary action would be taken if necessary.

The six Black students who were banned from the bar are considering legal action against the nightspot and the chancellor of Washington University has even written a letter to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley expressing concern about the incident. Click Here to read Chancellor’s letter.

I am appalled but not surprised at all…

Read more about the incident at the following links:

CNN ~ Students: Chicago Nightclub Barred Blacks

Students Complaint’s Prompt Government Investigations/Lawsuits