The Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell addresses charges by an ex-manager that a popular Chicago nightspot used illegal tactics to limit the number of African Americans in the club.
It is not unusual for popular watering holes to bar African-American males because of a dress code.
If black guys are wearing baggy jeans and a $140 pair of Jordans, they can forget about getting in most clubs. On the other hand, white guys can get past security guards wearing frayed khakis and faded T-shirts.
But discrimination in the club scene has been hard to ferret out. That may soon change, thanks to a whistle-blower who claims to have witnessed the discrimination firsthand.
Camila Klinger, 27, was fired as general manager for a popular bar in Lincoln Park in 2010. Two weeks ago, she filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that Anthony Anton, the owner of Fuze (formerly known as Skybar) at 2242 N. Lincoln, routinely used illegal tactics to limit the number of African Americans in the club.
Anton did not return several phone calls seeking comment about the lawsuit. His attorney, Michael Ficaro, also did not return my phone calls.
But this is not the first time that someone has accused Anton of discriminating against African Americans.
Read Mary Mitchell's entire column at the Chicago Sun-Times.