It’s Friday evening and you decide to go out for some cocktails with friends, kick back, take it easy, and share some good times. Things are going great until you get to the door of the bar and you’re told the cover charge is $20 for each person. Oh, and you also happen to be black.
Brandon Ball, an attorney in Houston, posted on his Facebook page that he and two of his friends attempted to go into the Gaslamp bar last Friday night and were told of the cover charge. However, they saw white patrons being let into the Gaslamp without paying a dime. Ball wrote this recollection of the event:
“Ken, Dan, and I went back and watched from across the street as the guys who were working the front door of The Gaslamp allowed white people to come in one after the other. Every black person who we watched try to go in was told there was a $20 cover or that their attire was not proper. One black guy was told that he could not get in because he had on Polo Boots. Dan spoke to several people who were told there was a $20 cover and they pretty much all said the same thing. It was not just blacks they were charging. It was people of both Asian and Latin descent.”
Can you say blatant racial discrimination?
Ball took photos of the two men working at the door of the bar and says that one of them — identified as Mike Ross — threatened him, remarking that he hoped he didn’t run into him on the streets:
“Because it would be a problem.”
Threats?! Is this a Mafia bar? WTF?!
Shortly after Ball posted his story on Facebook, he received a note from Ross asking him to quit sharing his name, claiming that his stepfather is black and that he is “the furthest thing from racist or prejudice (sic).”
In other words, some of his best friends are black, so how can he be a racist? Gimme a freaking break! He charges African-Americans to enter, but he’s not prejudiced.
After Ball’s Facebok post went viral, an attorney for the bar alleged that the men were attempting to access a VIP section where the $20 cover is required. Ball and his friends dispute and say they just wanted to go inside the main bar for a drink.
Why did Ball decided to publicize the event on Facebook? Simple:
“Why does this matter to me? Why is this important? If I have to answer that please just move along. This post is not meant for you. This event occurred in the late night of Sept. 11th. A day in which we as a country are supposed to come together. But events like this just tells us how far apart we are. The Gaslamp is an example of the things that need to change all over America, not just here. Hopefully the post puts a little dent in that.”
