Up until a few days ago, a bar in Springfield had a sign up detailing a dress code that local leaders called out as racist.
The sign, which hung inside Nathan Bill’s Bar and Restaurant included provisions like no plain white t-shirts, no shirts that hang below the thigh, no do-rags, and no “excessively low or baggy pants.”
This is a local restaurant frequented by white police officers, where 14 cops were indicted for brutally beating four Black men.
This sign appeared in their window shortly after we staged a protest there.
It may as well say, “WHITES ONLY.” pic.twitter.com/Xf2bDhIxwA
— Bishop Talbert Swan (@TalbertSwan) July 11, 2020
Nathan Bill’s is also where 14 Springfield police officers were charged following the alleged 2015 beating of four people in the parking lot.
A protest in front of the eatery at 1 p.m. Saturday endeavored to have the sign taken down, and “demand an end to discriminatory business practices in Springfield,” according to the event details on Facebook. The protest was organized by Pioneer Valley Project, a community organization, the NAACP Springfield, city Councilor Tracye Whitfield, and City Council President Justin Hurst.
Bishop Talbert Swan, president of the NAACP Springfield, compared the sign to that of signs his father used to see while growing up in Mississippi during segregation that would exclude Black people from establishments.
“So we saw this as an exclusionary tactic to keep us away based upon those racial stereotypes that we have had to deal with throughout the course of history,” he said. “And so we sought to bring attention to this, we sought to bring truth to power, we sought to have our voices heard.”
The sign was put up about seven years ago upon opening, according to MassLive.
Robert Gossman, owner of the restaurant, said that the city “was cracking down heavily on bars” back then and that the dress code was used “to appease the city.” The kitchen would close at about 10 p.m., and a DJ would come in for the “late night crowd.” He said the dress code “was the norm for the industry.”
“Systemic racism is rampant in our society and following the norm or the status quo although not intentional is very much part of the problem,” he told the crowd during the protest, noting that he’s “ashamed” of the sign and he apologized for it. He said the sign has been taken down. “We’ll never put it up again.”
Gossman also promised $6,500 to pay for a new Black Lives Matter mural on Court Street in downtown Springfield, according to Whitfield. She thanked Gossman for the donation, and also for speaking with officials about their concerns.
“While we are graciously accepting the generosity, we understand that we are still in the time where consistency and continued communication is key,” Whitfield said.
The Link LonkJuly 20, 2020 at 03:57AM
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Bar removes dress code sign called out as racist - Boston.com
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