A night club expert said many West End nightclubs are racist against Black and Asian people and secretly operate a ‘No Blacks Allowed’ policy. They allow in "token" number of blacks so that they are not accused of being racists but the rest will be turned away with flimsy excuses.
In a post titled 'Libertine Club London - An Abusive Experience', Fisayo writes her experience;
"I don’t go clubbing often. I would much rather spend my money on Balenciaga than a £300 bottle of vodka but that’s just my preferred lifestyle as a fashion victim. Don’t get me wrong- I love a good night out. I will never forget my friend’s 21st at Liv in Miami with DJ Ruckus on the decks or my 21st at VIP Room in Paris when the DJ somehow figured out we were Nigerian and dropped some jams that made us all go crazy!
Once in a while, I snap out of being a grandma and go 0 to 100 real quick. And that’s what I intended to do on Friday 31st October in London- Halloween.
A few girlfriends and I decided that we had been working too hard and we deserved a night out. We wanted to go to Cirque Du Soir because it’s always the place to be at Halloween but we wanted to get a table and decided that the minimum spend at Cirque was too high. So, we settled on Libertine Club London. I had been to Libertine three times prior (once when it was China White and twice after it had changed to Libertine). Those three times were for my friends 18th, my friend’s graduation party and then once when we just went out randomly. All three times, someone or a few people within the group got a table and spent a lot of money. On these occasions, I never had any issues at Libertine. There was great music and great company and that’s all I’ve ever needed to have a great night.
A few friends dropped out while we were planning the Halloween
night and it was down to three of us. We decided that we weren’t going
to get a table as a result and we would just hop on a guestlist. I
looked around on the internet, found a promoter and text him to put our
names down on the list. We got to the club quite late because there was
so much traffic and at this point, the queue was massive and the
promoter told us he couldn’t help us get in quicker and we had to queue
up.
We went to the back of the queue while contemplating whether to just
leave until a security guard overheard us and told us that the club
wasn’t full, we should stand in the queue and the wait would only be
about half an hour. We queued for about an hour in the cold and finally
got to the front of the queue. We were asked for ID which we showed. The
most obnoxious, patronizing door lady looked us up and down and asked
what guest list we were on. We told her, to which she replied ‘Not
tonight, ladies. Please step aside’. I’m standing there shocked and
confused because I’ve heard about this sort of behavior at clubs but
never experienced it before. We were properly dressed- I mean, it was
halloween. People were dressed as all sorts- orange prison costumes,
skeletons, ghosts, all sorts. I was minnie mouse, my friend Leona was
poison ivy and Zeina was Baron Samedi, whoever that is. Lol.
I asked why we were not able to get in and was told that they owe us no
explanation and we should go home. WHAT?! I demanded a sensible
explanation and some elderly white man, maybe the manager tells me
‘maybe because you’re black but there are some black people inside,
probably because you’re not good looking enough’. At that point, I was
speechless. We left and the next day I sent an email to the owner, the
manager and the club. In this email, I demanded an explanation and
apology for such appalling abusive treatment. It has been over six weeks
and these people did not even think that I deserved a reply.
Such blatant abuse and racism from a well established London
nightclub is disgusting. I was and still am so shocked. The past three
times I’ve been to the club when I was with a group of people on a table
which was spending at least £2000, I had no issues. The minute we were
not spending stupid money at the club, our race and looks became an
issue? This sort of discrimination is unacceptable.
I
have put off writing this post for so long because you guys know how I
like to keep this blog positive. I partner with and promote brands I
like everyday and this is important to me and to this blog. I never give
any negative publicity because I don’t have many negative brand
experiences and except it’s an important social issue, I prefer to say
nothing than to ruin a business image that someone has worked so hard
for. It is important to highlight more serious issues of abuse and
discrimination like we faced at Libertine. It is sad that some elderly
man feels that he has the right to speak to anyone in that way and to
racially discriminate against anyone; let alone a group of three girls
out to have a good night. And then to have such a superiority complex as
to insult us based upon our looks? The fact that neither the founder
nor the partner felt a need to reply shows how little respect they have
for their customers and the image of their business.
Exclusivity
does not and should not mean discrimination. I will never set foot in
this club again. Your establishment embodies so much that is wrong with
the world today."
