‘We’re not playing your kind of music tonight’: Black men are sharing their racist night club experiences on social media

A tweet asking black men to share the ‘worst excuse’ they’ve had from bouncers has received more than 4,000 responses

Saman Javed
Wednesday 03 November 2021 09:46 EDT
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Male security officer in a night club
Male security officer in a night club (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

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Black men have been sharing stories of racism they have experienced at nightclub doors on social media.

Last week, a Twitter user asked Black men to share the “worst excuse” they have heard from bouncers when being denied entry to a venue.

The tweet has since received more than 4,000 responses, with men coming forward with their stories.

Some said they had been turned away because of what they were wearing, even when they had kept to the venue’s dress code.

One user shared a picture of his patterned white shirt, which a bouncer told him was “too much”.

A second man said he was not allowed into the venue because his trousers “weren’t ironed well enough”.

Another was denied entry to a club because the bouncer said his jeans were “baggy”, even though they were a fitted style.

“One dude in line (who wasn’t black) was like ‘bro, you might as well have just told him to take his skin off at the door’,” he said.

“Feeling guilty, by that point [the bouncers] said I could come in, but the racism was already out of the tube.”

One person recalled the time his group of friends had approached a nightclub, but were turned away because a member of their party was wearing ripped jeans.

His friend changed into some joggers upon the request of the bouncer but was still refused entry.

“By chance I had another pair of non-ripped jeans in my trunk. We came back and the bouncer said ‘y’all ain’t got no other spot y’all wanna go to?’,” he recalled.

Some people said they had been denied entry to clubs on the basis of how they were dressed, but had watched as white people wearing similar clothes were allowed in.

One user, who was wearing Vans shoes and jeans was stopped at the door, but a white person wearing “the same thing” was allowed inside.

Some black men said they had also been racially profiled by bouncers.

One person was turned away from a venue because it did not allow people wearing grills – a type of jewellery worn over teeth. “I had braces,” he said.

Another black man said he wasn’t allowed in after a bouncer accused him of being intoxicated and “too drunk”. He explained that he is Muslim, and does not drink.

The man behind the original tweet, a DJ who plays at rolling skating events in London, also shared his own experiences.

He said him and his friends had been turned away from a club because one of them was dressed “too formally”. On another occasion, he was told he could not come in not because his hard-sole shoes would “scratch the dance floor”.

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