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Leeds Townhouse Continues To Operate Racist Door Policy

Dick Teriov | 19.06.2006 15:44 | Anti-racism

Despite previous complaints Leeds Townhouse is continuing to operate an illegal and racist 'colour bar'.

Following on from an earlier Indymedia article alleging the operation of a racist door policy at Leeds Townhouse (see  https://publish.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/leedsbradford/2006/06/341982.html), it seems that the venue is continuing to operate a 'colour bar'.

Most incidents of racial discrimination at the Townhouse probably don't get reported, but there was an incident at the weekend where two black American visitors to Leeds were turned away from the Townhouse, being told it was full. When they told their white host a few minutes later, he attempted to get in with no problem, but as soon as he told the doorstaff that his black girlfriend also wanted to come in, as did their two friends (a man and a woman), he was told that while he could go in, they could not. Door staff, including two shame-faced black bouncers, refused to discuss the Townhouse's racist door policy.

It is OBVIOUS that Leeds Townhouse is operating a racist 'colour bar', discriminating against black people in a way that they do not discriminate against white customers. Such policies hark back to the days of slavery, apartheid, and racial segregation, they are an abomination and have no place in Leeds in the 21st Century

Dick Teriov

Comments

Hide the following 9 comments

Sorry

19.06.2006 16:44

Apologies for the double posting.

DT


No smoke without fire

19.06.2006 20:22

As a comment to the link above the OP has posted a reply he/she got from the Townhouse club denying they are racialists. But there are 3 complaints about this on Indymedia alone. There's no smoke without fire. At least in the past racialists had the honesty to put up signs. This colour prejudice should not be allowed.

S.Wainwright (Leeds)


we are on it

19.06.2006 21:59

We have obtained some covert footage and will be broadcasting this in around 3 months on a special programme about racism in Britains night clubs, as promised we visited and will be back over the next 3 weeks.
thanks for the lead

TV Journo


TV Journo

19.06.2006 22:11

Great stuff. Be good to get a reminder on Indymedia when the programme is due ou. I hope the townhouse get prosecuted.

Nigel


Anyone prepared to go on the record?

22.06.2006 10:18

I work for a Leeds paper and am keen to do a story on this. Can anyone who has experienced Townhouse's discriminatory door policy please contact me.

Journo
mail e-mail: gonzojoel@hotmail.com


Be careful...

29.06.2006 11:11

Be careful.. there are trolls on the loose!!!

birdshyte


No

06.07.2006 00:01

I am not a troll. I want to publicise what has happened, but the only way I can do that is through the help of others.

gonzojoel
mail e-mail: gonzojoel@hotmail.com


its all a load of tosh

23.01.2007 04:49

hi there saw your post on indymedia.
i am a leeds doorman and have my own views on the fisaco thats hit the media as of late.

i read the report  http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/leedsbradford/2006/06/343085.html?c=on#c149760 and am disgusted.
Not with the what the report details, but with the fact that people are claiming its racism.
What they dont care to mention is that how many people after them went in?? how many left.

All that report states is that a man was allowed entry, then round the corner 3 of his friends turn up.
Thats not racist, thatshim taking the piss and paliming it off as racism.

Often when a club is full a person leaves, so rightly the next person to come to the club is allowed in. But the subsequent people to come to the door are not allowed.
No exceptions are given to friends family or whatever.
This is only an issue because they are taking it down the racism path. Which is typical.

How many white people get turned away on a nite? before they accuse- they should get some hard evidence.

I have worked in most of the palces in leeds over a 12 year period. And racism is not abundant at all
what we are being faced with now are alot more people who think they have a right to admission regardless of behaviour;dress style; and even law

RIGHT OF ADMISSION IS RESERVED

these customers enter the licensed premises as a guest of the management.

I as a doorman, do not have to give a reason to deny a person entry.
However it is good customer service to do so.

Generally this is a leeds door policy :

No casual clothes like trackies reboks; hoodies ''gym'' sneakers and the like. ; no workwear (hard hats building site)
NO LARGE groups of males. and this includes those who try to come in, then split up later on
personally i dont let people in who are openly drinking on the street. They have a blatant disregard fo health and saftey; do not dispose of the bottles and 9/10 times the bottle they were so happily drinking form and left on the pavement ends up around someones head at around 2am.

no rowdy people who are overly exhuberant.

BUT also - we have to adhere to capacity regulations incited by the law. alot of people take umbridge at this because they feel they have a right to entry. regardless of how many people are in a venue. basic health and safety regs which are in place at most work places especially offices are often disregarded.

Perhaps it is not us the doorstaff that need educating, perhaps its the general public who need lessons in common sense.

I also will not let in anybody who i believe will even give me a sniff of trouble.

Why am i so tough?? Like alot of my colleagues it is me on the frontline who has to evict people from the premises. It is me who goes into a potentially conflict situation where people have consealed weapons and bad attitudes.
It is me who risks getting injured to protect the premises and the guests inside.

to do this we utilise life skills; SIA training and working experience to make judgement calls.
its got nothign to do with racism, this is all about safety.


i know what your going to say, search everybody that comes into your premises
because logistically thats an impossiblity - not to mention an intrusion of privacy. instead most venues offer a random search policy.
but as the police know well an truly, this is not foolproof.

the process of entry into a venue is a two way process.
if a customer is being a shit, then they wont get in.




If you want to talk about racism, lets me and you go for a walk down chapeltown road at 8pm at night? or shall we venture further afield to bradford where alot of the asian youth will throw bricks at you and hurl abuse - and thats jsut at the train station. and these gangs of youths are also the ones to come to leeds city centre on a saturday night and cause mayhem; by driving around in gangs of cars, approaching venue doors, hurling abuse and flashing knives.

thats racism

not 3 people getting turned away because a venue is full...

anyways, thats a bit of an unfocused rant- but with the press also attacking jade goody as being racist for some blatant bullying has got me annoyed.

the media is at fault here - yet again casuing a ruckus to sell some papers.

people will always complain about getting knocked back thats life; in fact i expect more complaints as a whole - because the genral leeds demographic is increasing.

before people throw accusations around, perhaps people should look at the bigger picture and use a bit of empathy.

christ - havnt you people got a backbone???

The Big Man
mail e-mail: just4funtoday@hotmail.co.uk


its all a load of tosh

23.01.2007 05:26

hi there saw your post on indymedia.
i am a leeds doorman and have my own views on the fisaco thats hit the media as of late.

i read the report  http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/leedsbradford/2006/06/343085.html?c=on#c149760 and am disgusted.
Not with the what the report details, but with the fact that people are claiming its racism.
What they dont care to mention is that how many people after them went in?? how many left.

All that report states is that a man was allowed entry, then round the corner 3 of his friends turn up.
Thats not racist, thatshim taking the piss and paliming it off as racism.

Often when a club is full a person leaves, so rightly the next person to come to the club is allowed in. But the subsequent people to come to the door are not allowed.
No exceptions are given to friends family or whatever.
This is only an issue because they are taking it down the racism path. Which is typical.

How many white people get turned away on a nite? before they accuse- they should get some hard evidence.

I have worked in most of the palces in leeds over a 12 year period. And racism is not abundant at all
what we are being faced with now are alot more people who think they have a right to admission regardless of behaviour;dress style; and even law

RIGHT OF ADMISSION IS RESERVED

these customers enter the licensed premises as a guest of the management.

I as a doorman, do not have to give a reason to deny a person entry.
However it is good customer service to do so.

Generally this is a leeds door policy :

No casual clothes like trackies reboks; hoodies ''gym'' sneakers and the like. ; no workwear (hard hats building site)
NO LARGE groups of males. and this includes those who try to come in, then split up later on
personally i dont let people in who are openly drinking on the street. They have a blatant disregard fo health and saftey; do not dispose of the bottles and 9/10 times the bottle they were so happily drinking form and left on the pavement ends up around someones head at around 2am.

no rowdy people who are overly exhuberant.

BUT also - we have to adhere to capacity regulations incited by the law. alot of people take umbridge at this because they feel they have a right to entry. regardless of how many people are in a venue. basic health and safety regs which are in place at most work places especially offices are often disregarded.

Perhaps it is not us the doorstaff that need educating, perhaps its the general public who need lessons in common sense.

I also will not let in anybody who i believe will even give me a sniff of trouble.

Why am i so tough?? Like alot of my colleagues it is me on the frontline who has to evict people from the premises. It is me who goes into a potentially conflict situation where people have consealed weapons and bad attitudes.
It is me who risks getting injured to protect the premises and the guests inside.

to do this we utilise life skills; SIA training and working experience to make judgement calls.
its got nothign to do with racism, this is all about safety.


i know what your going to say, search everybody that comes into your premises
because logistically thats an impossiblity - not to mention an intrusion of privacy. instead most venues offer a random search policy.
but as the police know well an truly, this is not foolproof.

the process of entry into a venue is a two way process.
if a customer is being a shit, then they wont get in.




If you want to talk about racism, lets me and you go for a walk down chapeltown road at 8pm at night? or shall we venture further afield to bradford where alot of the asian youth will throw bricks at you and hurl abuse - and thats jsut at the train station. and these gangs of youths are also the ones to come to leeds city centre on a saturday night and cause mayhem; by driving around in gangs of cars, approaching venue doors, hurling abuse and flashing knives.

thats racism

not 3 people getting turned away because a venue is full...

anyways, thats a bit of an unfocused rant- but with the press also attacking jade goody as being racist for some blatant bullying has got me annoyed.

the media is at fault here - yet again casuing a ruckus to sell some papers.

people will always complain about getting knocked back thats life; in fact i expect more complaints as a whole - because the genral leeds demographic is increasing.

before people throw accusations around, perhaps people should look at the bigger picture and use a bit of empathy.

christ - havnt you people got a backbone???

The Big Man
mail e-mail: just4funtoday@hotmail.co.uk