"Unless you have titties and a vagina, you should not be in there" Disgusting!"Ī statement was soon posted on the bar's Facebook page claiming the bar's owners had no prior knowledge of the "visual statement," which they called "satire." They recognized how problematic it was, had it removed, apologized to anyone who was upset, and instituted training for employees to prevent similar incidents in the future. "Do you know how many Latinx people have spent their AMERICAN dollars in your establishment? To depict a 'Mexican' with bloody hands climbing over a wall with an American flag so nicely draped over it… is down. "There was an American flag on the wall and above that there was what looked like a dead Mexican in a sombrero on top of it."Īs others laughed, Valverde posted a photo of the display in a private post to her Facebook page. It was soon shared in a public post by her friend Stephen Garcia. "I've said it before and I will say it again. "We were getting some drinks at the bar and I noticed there was a half-built wall," Gia Valverde told Colorado's 9News. In late November, Gia Valverde her friends were at Denver's X Bar, where they came face to face with an offensive display, particularly in the wake of the 2016 election. "There was an American flag on the wall and above that there was what looked like a dead Mexican in a sombrero." His response, wrote Preston: "I don't think that's likely, Laverne Cox has eaten here before." As she wrote for WeHoville, "To me, that's like someone saying, 'I can't be racist, I have a black friend.'" The insinuation was similar to DiPiano's: people of color are cheap.Ī conversation with an assistant manager about what had transpired proved fruitless.
In an op-ed for local blog WeHoville, Preston recounted what ensued: She claims a condescending server then came to her table, instructing her that "these places work a little differently." Preston claims the server attempted to direct her towards menu items that were cheaper. Once inside, she said, the poor treatment continued.
After arriving with a reservation, Preston-who also happens to be a person of color-alleges that she was stonewalled at the door and only allowed in after threatening to leverage her position on the Advisory Board to criticize the establishment. This discrimination, according to the reports, extended to queer women who were routinely failed to be served at bars.Īshlee Marie Preston is a trans activist who works on the Transgender Advisory Board in West Hollywood (WeHo), LA's gayborhood. Last Tuesday, she went to eat at a WeHo restaurant named Catch. Today, 11 bars and clubs are undergoing anti-discrimination training after a subsequently-commissioned study showed how rampant discrimination was in the city. While DePiano admitted it was him in the video and has since apologized for the statement-claiming it was recorded years ago and doesn't represent his "true feelings"-the revelation was one of many that made Philadelphia's Commission on Human Relations take action. And on April 15, during the bar's sixth anniversary, audio from that clip was broadcast on loudspeakers outside the bar by protesters for everyone to hear. It depicted him saying "Ni-ni-ni-ni-niggers, every one of 'em," in a conversation in which he insinuated that queer men of color disproportionately ask bar staff for drink tickets. In September, a video of Darryl DePiano, the owner of Philadelphia gay bar iCandy, began to circulate on social media. Over the past 12 months, there have been a shocking number of prejudicial actions committed in so-called "safe spaces." Here's a rundown of a few of the ones that have caught our attention. In fact, this alleged discrimination is all too common at gay bars. Unfortunately, the events at Rebar did not happen in isolation. While Rebar management later released a statement admitting they "understand patrons were made to feel unwelcome during our opening weekend," they also refused to speak to claims of racial discrimination-despite the fact that Rebar opened in the former space of G Lounge, which had the same owners and also suffered from its own discrimination rumors. "I actually kinda felt helpless," Alexis told Mic after his initial Facebook post went viral. After Alexis's story caught wind, similar complaints began to flood Rebar's social media pages and review sites. Alexis said his group prepared to leave before another employee allowed them to come inside. Once they stepped in, they saw that "it was pretty dead and empty," as his post had it, while other black patrons overwhelmed the line outside, unable to enter. In the post, Alexis detailed how he and his friends had been denied entry over the weekend by an employee who told them the bar was at capacity.