'No Black Folks'

 

A popular Minnesota bar is under fire for posting a dress code that some are calling 'overtly racist.'

Bar Louie in Minneapolis has a sign on the door proclaiming they strictly enforce a policy that bans anyone wearing 'excessively' baggy clothing, large chains, long white t-shirts and other outerwear often associated with young black men.

Now the dress code is attracting a lot of negative attention for being no different, according to one patron, from saying 'no black folks allowed.'

'It's ridiculous,' outraged local Michelle Horovitz told KMSP. ''What is "excessively baggy?" Who's going to judge that? Are you going to have Grandma B sitting by the door?'

The other dress code no-nos are flat-billed hats, athletic apparel and sports jerseys unless collared.

Local Sean Tierney told KMSP the dress code is 'totally racial profiling,' and Imani Vincent called for a boycott of the national franchise.

'Hurt 'em in the pockets,' he said. 'That's where it would hurt them the most. If they don't want us there, then we don't have to be there -- and that's their loss.'

While the dress code may seem shockingly racist to some, it's not uncommon.

In 2009, six college students in Chicago accused a nightclub made famous in the Rob Lowe and Demi Moore film About Last Night of a similar misdeed and said they were 'racially profiled' with a 'no baggy jeans policy.'

Another high profile example came in 2011, when a New York City haunt in the East Village called the Continental was investigated following similar accusations.

At the time, the bar's owner Trigger Smith said such policies were necessary for the busy business's survival, telling WNYC:

'We turn away people in baggy jeans and saggy jeans and gangster clothes...I’ve turned away people of all colors.'

As for Bar Louie, the company had not responded to the accusations as of Tuesday morning.

However, KMSP reported that management at the Minneapolis location were just following corporate headquarters instructions when they posted and enforced the rules.