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Boing
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A 21-year-old bound for graduate school at Harvard was forcibly ejected from a bar recently in Raleigh, N.C. The reason, according to him? He's black. Jonathan Wall went to the Downtown Sports Bar and Grill with friends, and was physically thrown out by the manager for, well, standing.
A cop outside of the bar was little help, Wall says, so he took to social media, and a former instructor a blog post about the incident. Nearly 200 commenters responded to the post with their own stories about their treatment at the bar. Soon a Facebook page was started, local news media have now picked up the story and a protest is being planned.
A cop outside of the bar was little help, Wall says, so he took to social media, and a former instructor a blog post about the incident. Nearly 200 commenters responded to the post with their own stories about their treatment at the bar. Soon a Facebook page was started, local news media have now picked up the story and a protest is being planned.
As the story begins, on last Saturday night around 12:30am, I and 2 other friends went to Downtown Sports Bar and Grill off of Glennwood Avenue. The night got interesting as soon as we got to the door, and the bouncer told us “you need a membership to come in tonight, I’ve never seen you here before.
” My friend Chris and I looked at each other in curiosity, knowing that the establishment was a bar and not a club, and that people in line before us walked right in after showing their ID. The only difference between those people and my friends and I was our race.Still, we stood at the door in bewilderment asking “What?” as he further tried to explain that we weren’t going to be able to come in because of our “non-member” status.
However, as he was explaining this, a police officer walked up to where he was standing to tell him something unrelated. As soon as he caught sight of the officer beside him, he said “Never mind, y’all go ahead.” T
his was the first interesting ordeal of the night, but not the last.Once inside, Wall was accosted by an employee after standing near the bar by himself for a few moments. “Either buy a drink or leave right now,” the man told him. Wall said he was waiting for his friend to come back from the bathroom, but the man insisted he had to buy a drink right away.
I felt as if I was singled out. The common denominator, again, was that I was the only black person around. After staring me down for about 30 seconds, he walked back over and said “Are you going to buy a drink, or are you going to leave?” I replied, “As soon as my friend comes from the bathroom.”
Before I cold utter another word, he grabbed my right wrist and my left arm and threw them behind my head in an effort to constrain me, although I was speaking to him a calm and non-aggressive tone and didn’t once even gesture.
He then used excessive force to push me through the crown and out of the club while I was still in this “headlock” of sorts, before pushing me out of the front door.
The manager of the bar accosted him and a confrontation erupted and he was kicked out of the bar. After being kicked out and assaulted he called the police who told him that this isn't uncommon and there was nothing they could do.
” My friend Chris and I looked at each other in curiosity, knowing that the establishment was a bar and not a club, and that people in line before us walked right in after showing their ID. The only difference between those people and my friends and I was our race.Still, we stood at the door in bewilderment asking “What?” as he further tried to explain that we weren’t going to be able to come in because of our “non-member” status.
However, as he was explaining this, a police officer walked up to where he was standing to tell him something unrelated. As soon as he caught sight of the officer beside him, he said “Never mind, y’all go ahead.” T
his was the first interesting ordeal of the night, but not the last.Once inside, Wall was accosted by an employee after standing near the bar by himself for a few moments. “Either buy a drink or leave right now,” the man told him. Wall said he was waiting for his friend to come back from the bathroom, but the man insisted he had to buy a drink right away.
I felt as if I was singled out. The common denominator, again, was that I was the only black person around. After staring me down for about 30 seconds, he walked back over and said “Are you going to buy a drink, or are you going to leave?” I replied, “As soon as my friend comes from the bathroom.”
Before I cold utter another word, he grabbed my right wrist and my left arm and threw them behind my head in an effort to constrain me, although I was speaking to him a calm and non-aggressive tone and didn’t once even gesture.
He then used excessive force to push me through the crown and out of the club while I was still in this “headlock” of sorts, before pushing me out of the front door.
The manager of the bar accosted him and a confrontation erupted and he was kicked out of the bar. After being kicked out and assaulted he called the police who told him that this isn't uncommon and there was nothing they could do.
There is racism in this world but its hard to believe that stuff like this still happens
This case brings up some very important issues, should the bar have the right to deny him entry? Why would someone want to go to a bar like this if they know they will face discrimination? What should the police have done in this case since if they were to help him get in as soon as they leave he would be kicked out.
https://now.msn.com/now/0619-racist-bar-protest
https://www.care2.com/causes/black-man-thrown-out-of-sports-bar-social-media-to-the-rescue.html
https://jezebel.com/5919562/black-man-kicked-out-of-racist-bar-cops-dont-help-but-social-media-does
This case brings up some very important issues, should the bar have the right to deny him entry? Why would someone want to go to a bar like this if they know they will face discrimination? What should the police have done in this case since if they were to help him get in as soon as they leave he would be kicked out.
https://now.msn.com/now/0619-racist-bar-protest
https://www.care2.com/causes/black-man-thrown-out-of-sports-bar-social-media-to-the-rescue.html
https://jezebel.com/5919562/black-man-kicked-out-of-racist-bar-cops-dont-help-but-social-media-does
