吃瓜大本营

This piece was originally published at the ACLU of Northern California's page.

We began the evening on a quest for a good karaoke night and went to a bar in Fresno, California, called The Brig.

After waiting for more than half an hour to sing, we started to wonder when our number would be called. We planned to sing a hip hop and R&B hit from the 鈥�90s 鈥娾�斺�� TLC鈥檚 Waterfalls.

But before our song was called, a bar employee came up and said we had to buy drinks to sing karaoke. Another bartender lunged at us within inches of our faces and shouted, 鈥淏uy drinks!鈥�

Our group of three had already bought two drinks. But it quickly became clear to us that we were unwelcome in the bar.

A second bartender 鈥娾�斺�� a very tall and large man 鈥娾�斺�� shouted louder and louder that we were loitering and that the bar wasn鈥檛 a hangout place. Over and over again he pushed his body up against Abre鈥欌�娾�斺�妛ho is just 5 feet, 4 inches tall鈥娾�斺�妕o force her out of the bar.

After Abre鈥� repeatedly resisted, saying, 鈥淒on鈥檛 touch me,鈥� he shouted that he was calling the police and stormed off.

An off-duty server came over to try to smooth things over. We explained that we鈥檇 been removed from the karaoke list before we were even told what the rule was. We explained that several other people in the bar didn鈥檛 have drinks in their hand. She said the rule was just about business but showed no interest in enforcing it against anyone else. Instead she tried to convince us to leave. We pointed out that the bar staff was only using the rule against us, and we seemed to be the only two Black people in the bar.

But the server yelled back, 鈥淚t鈥檚 not fair for you to bring up race!鈥�

Of course it鈥檚 fair to bring up race.

Let鈥檚 recap. Four white employees at a bar in Fresno called the police to kick out two Black women (who happen to be ACLU attorneys) and who appeared to be the only Black people there.

When the police arrived, several customers explained to the officers that the bar staff were enforcing the rule against us only. Some told the police that a one-drink rule did not exist. Others even tried to buy us drinks. But the bartenders wouldn鈥檛 let them.

And still, the police forced us 鈥娾�� 鈥妕wo Black women in the bar 鈥娾�� 鈥妕o leave.

Police departments are supposed to enforce criminal laws and threats to public safety, not enforce personal biases.

The bartender and police claimed to be exercising the business鈥� supposed 鈥渞ight鈥� to refuse service. This sounds too much like when the country still had 鈥渃olored鈥� sections and racially segregated water fountains. But this happened in March 2016.

Businesses actually do not have a legal right to refuse service to anyone or treat people differently based on race.

Since a , it has been clear that federal law prohibits businesses from discriminating on the basis of race. This case confirmed that a restaurant in the segregated Deep South could not refuse to serve Black patrons. And that ruling鈥檚 legacy means that, today, it鈥檚 against the law for a bar in Fresno to force us, two Black women, to leave over a one-drink rule that the bar only applied to us.

California鈥檚 anti-discrimination laws are even stronger. The California legislature passed the in 1959 to protect people against discrimination by businesses. Under this law, businesses in California cannot refuse service or entry on the basis of race and other protected categories.

That law has been in place since 1959. And yet, in 2016, this state law was violated by the four white employees at the Fresno bar and by the police officers who allowed themselves to be tools to enforce private prejudice.

The servers said it wasn鈥檛 about race. But for us, and for many other patrons, it was. The server who said it wasn鈥檛 about race wasn鈥檛 on the receiving end of the humiliation of being kicked out of a bar.

Privilege often blurs the blatant issues of race right in front of our eyes.

We鈥檙e not the first people that this has happened to. But let鈥檚 be clear 鈥娾�斺�� no business can kick people out just because they鈥檙e Black.