The story slowly made its way around the nation, via a crafty combination of a viral internet campaign and word of mouth.

If you hadn’t heard, six Washington University students were recently refused entrance to a Chicago bar (Mother’s) supposedly for violation of its “baggy pants” dress code.  Chicago media has covered the story extensively, often highlighting the historical racial overtones which are invariably embedded in the subtext.

Click HERE.

Chicago and racism aren’t exactly mutually exclusive, it’s fair to say.

In fact, one of the students denied entrance traded pants with a thinner white student, making the pants seem even more “baggy,” and putting the dress code to a seemingly less difficult test.  The same bar faced with the same “baggy” pants…failed miserably.  The white student was admitted without incident.

There is more than one lesson to be learned from this story and little of it has to do with any specific bar in Chicago.  Some people walked away from this story thinking only that bars on Rush Street in Chicago have a propensity for discrimination against African-Americans through their dress codes.  And there’s evidence to support such a conclusion.  But let’s not though be so superficial and go deeper.

Here in The Mo’Kelly Report, it’s about looking beyond the obvious to examine a situation from a number of angles, to best learn from a particular set of circumstances.

The discriminatory nature of the Rush Street bars in question has less to do with the dress code itself and much more to do with its “racialized” application.  Meaning, it’s not the dress code, it’s the haphazard enforcement that’s the problem.  If it were determined that students, irrespective of color were denied entrance in violation of the dress code, all is well.  I simply don’t subscribe to the theory of dress codes being either “culturally insensitive” or “racially biased.”  Many came away from this story concluding or having their belief reinforced that dress codes are inherently racist against African-Americans.

I simply do not agree.

It may be true that a majority percentage of our African-American youth feature baggy or oversized clothing as part of their wardrobes.  But it is also true that private businesses are not public democracies.  It’s more than acceptable for a business to regulate the attire of its employees or even its customers.  To implement a dress code is not a priori racist or culturally insensitive, but a right of the business owner.

It is true that a disproportionate number of African-American males relative to other ethnicities “sag” or wear their pants below their waistline.  But it’s also true that as a business owner, I’m free to regulate (save race and gender) what is tolerated within the confines of my business.  Of course, such dress codes disproportionately impact the “population demographic,” but it is not inherently racist.  The moment White males who “sag” are granted admittance it is, but not a moment before.  Until that time, pull up your pants or patronize elsewhere.  Just because you have no good sense in terms of attire, it doesn’t mean I as a business owner must lower myself to meet your lack of standards.  You are free to spend your money elsewhere.  Such is the nature of a free market society.

No shirt, no shoes, no service…pretty much the same.

Night clubs have long disallowed jeans or t-shirts.  This is neither novel nor revolutionary in nature.  Here in the Los Angeles area, it’s very common for bars of various types and economic strata to forbid oversized, white T-shirts or any other attire which could be construed as gang paraphernalia.  Are the overwhelming majority of gang members in the Los Angeles area either Black or Latino?

Absolutely.

Is there an overwhelming amount of Black and Latino males who aren’t gang-affiliated yet dress in this popular manner?

Absolutely.

But citizens/patrons do not have a “right” to wear whatever they want into someone else’s place of business.  It’s not a public facility and therein lies the difference.

This is not to push aside the underlying intent behind the implementation of some of these dress codes.  I’m not naïve, I get it. But we as African-Americans must not confuse these issues.  Businesses don’t have a responsibility to accommodate anyone and everyone who may wish to spend money.  Being willing to spend money doesn’t automatically grant and guarantee one entrance.  Conversely, being turned away because a dress code offends one’s sensibilities doesn’t necessarily make it racist.  More times than not, it’s just good sense.

Standards are always good sense.

When businesses such as Mother’s cross the color line in the application of a dress code; by all means cast aspersion upon them.  At the same time, do not allow a singular instance such as this with the Washington University students to somehow placate the desire of some to scream racism over dress codes in general.  Dress codes are a good thing, ask the overwhelmingly African-American NBA.

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