Search

From the Mar 14 – Mar 20, 2002 issue

Drinking While Black

Tools

Email This
Print
Share
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Newsvine
- Reddit
- StumbleUpon
- del.icio.us
0 comments

Drinking Issue

Booze and Strippers: Separating Them Defies Natural Law by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey
Suddenly Serving: Honeyhole Sandwiches Becomes a Bar, Practically Overnight by Amy Jenniges
The Ballard Booze Legend by Pat Kearney
Under 21?: Some Tips For Underage Drinkers by Amy Jenniges
Once Upon a Time in America...: Catholic Churches Were Burnt to the Ground on St. Patrick's Day by Bill Savage
Drinking While Black by Kudzai Mudede
How Are They Doing?
Past Help: For Obliteration Drunks, There's Always Another Bottle by Sean Nelson
Yet Another Modest Proposal: An Effective Way to Keep Drunks Off Seattle's Streets by Charles Mudede
Seattle Bans Booze—A Cautionary Tale by Pat Kearney
Police Beat Special Edition: Some People Just Shouldn't Drink by Charles Mudede

The disadvantages of being black at a nightclub are numerous. On a hiphop night, patrons face pat-downs at the door, metal detectors, and drinks served in plastic cups. While such measures may hinder the mood, a brother out in search of a good time does have one distinct advantage over his honky brethren: Underage brothers can generally use anybody's ID at the door as long as the ID's photo is of a black person of similar gender. White bouncers are not afraid of blacks, they are petrified of them, and therefore they'll avoid confrontation by any means necessary--which often means that an underage brother can coast in the door with an ID that is obviously not his own.

In exploring this phenomenon, I interviewed four former bouncers--three were white, one was black--and asked them why I could patronize clubs carrying the driver's license of, say, the conspicuously deceased Malcolm X and not be turned away. By and large, all four feared having the Christ beat out of them by angry underage patrons. Simply put, there is more pressure for a favorable result when a brother hands over his ID, which creates an entertaining dissimilarity between drinking while black, and other "while blacks"--such as "driving while black" or "boning the sheriff's daughter while black." You see, when a brother offers his ID to a bouncer, it is one of the few times in life when the violent stereotype that follows every young black male actually works to his advantage.