17 August 3-9, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents On July 6, the business owner issued a social media statement in which he con- demns racism and apologizes for miscom- municating. “This was my second day attempting to manage the front door and explaining our new dress code, and I have learned that managing a dress code at the front door of an establishment, especially a brand new dress code and especially in your own establish- ment, is hard business,” Campbell said in the statement. “It is not fun and the last thing I ever want to do is hurt someone’s feelings.” In the apology, Campbell details how he believed Mayfield’s shorts were swim trunks. Parliament is surrounded by apart- ments with pools. The bar owner says the bar has had issues arising from drunken swimmers coming to the bar, so he has banned swimwear from the bar. Parliament also does not allow athletic wear, he says. Thus, the combination of the two violated the newly adopted dress code. Campbell takes responsibility for doing a “poor job” communicating that and states that blue Jordan shoes are permitted. Dallas City Code states if a place of public accommodation, including bars and lounges, posts dress, grooming or identification re- quirements, the requirements must be posted “in writing in a conspicuous, clearly visible location outside each public entrance of the place of accommodation; and at least seven days before becoming effective.” The Dallas Office of Equity and Inclusion’s Fair Housing office oversees code violations. “The Office of Equity and Inclusion, Fair Housing is here and would encourage any individual who has felt targeted because of their protected class, with business or other public accommodations to reach out,” Dr. Lindsey Wilson, the director of the depart- ment, says. Mayfield, who was not allowed entrance at Parliament, says that the dress code was not displayed at the entrance on the day of the incident. On July 18, the dress code was visibly displayed next to the bar’s entrance. The city ordinance is not in vain. The use of dress codes as a pretense for discrimina- tory and racist practices in Dallas is a “lin- gering problem” that was written about five years ago at PaperCity. In 2015, the now-closed Kung Fu Saloon, also located in Uptown, entered a consent decree with a federal court over allegations of engaging in “practices to limit the number of African American and Asian patrons.” Kung Fu Saloon was fined $400 by the city for racist dress code implementation. Uptown’s now-closed Trophy Room de- nied entry to three minority women on June 17, 2017. Their blouses, skirts and heels were too casual for the establishment, according to The Dallas Morning News. In 2021, Downtown’s Ravenna Italian Grille went viral for refusing services to a Black family because of the dress code. That same year, Vandelay Hospitality Group was at the center of two lawsuits. Drake’s Hollywood, owned by Vandelay, faced allegations of biases dress code en- forcement against lower-income and non- white customers. Six current or former employees corroborated claims, according to The Dallas Morning News. Park Cities’ Hillstone took issue with a Black man’s vintage denim vest in Septem- ber 2022, according to Eater. “They’ve [restaurants and bars] gotten so incredibly bold in the Dallas area,” Drake says. “They don’t care that we’re recording them anymore. They don’t care that we’re making a fuss. They don’t care that it’s going viral. It is going to continue to happen be- cause of the vagueness.” Individuals who feel targeted because of their race, gender or protected class can file a complaint with the Fair Housing Office. Complainants can expect to receive a re- sponse within seven days. ”Documentation is critical,” Wilson says. She advises those seeking to file a com- plaint to include videos, photos, witness contact information and names of the indi- viduals involved. All documentation is taken into consideration when the fair housing team conducts its investigation. “It is our mission to work towards the elimination of any discrimination, as the city of Dallas doesn’t stand with any form of dis- crimination,” the director says. Wilson says that businesses should be thinking about equity when they develop dress codes and that the city analyzes dress codes and integration processes for biases. Businesses should consider who these regu- lations may disproportionately affect. “These bars that are in the Uptown and the downtown area, they know what they’re doing,” Drake says. “They’ve been around the block long enough. They know who they want in their building. They know who they want to spend money there.” Desiree Gutierrez A dress code sign on the door at Baboush.
