| GoodkillaZZ |
Posted
on 30-Jun-04 08:16 AM
Company Adjusts Nightlife Dress Code in Louisville
By Emmanuel N. Jackson, BET.com Staff Writer
Posted June 29, 2004 ý If a downtown Louisville development company has its way, the following attire would be missing at outside street festivals and concerts:
Baggy jeans
Backwards baseball caps
Sleeveless T-shirts
Jerseys
And you might as well add to the list, Black youth, angry community activists allege.Advertisement
The policy is seen in some quarters as a way to demonize young Blacks who disproportionately wear the banned items. The area of retail shops and businesses along a cordoned off block, known as Fourth Street Live, opened three weeks ago.
ýThey were really stereotyping with this dress code, because they know that inner city youth and urban youth wear these jerseys,ý the Rev. Louis Coleman, head of the Justice Resource Center, told BET.com Tuesday.
After Coleman and others demonstrated against the policy Monday, including the Kentucky American Civil Liberties Union, the Baltimore-based Cordish Company rescinded the ban against jerseys, saying they could be worn at nighttime events.
Zed Smith, director of operations for Cordish, denied that the policy targeted Blacks and added that "there were more Whiteýs being turned away."
Louisville has a history of racial tension involving city authorities and the Black community. Recently, a city police officer was indicted in the death of an unarmed Black man and at least one Black man has been killed by police in each of the last five years.
City officials said they had nothing to do with the policy.
ýWait, wait, wait ý let me back that up, the city has not imposed a dress code,ý said Jay Blanton, a spokesman for the mayor. He said the city sold the parcel to the developer but still owns the street next to it. ýCordish has a development agreement which allows them to close off the road and establish a dress code.ý
Beth Wilson, executive director for Kentuckyýs American Civil Liberties Union, said she was certainly glad to hear about the compromise.
ýOur point with this is that this is a public street. We donýt want to see people singled out ý either because of their race or gender,ý said Wilson.
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