Protests at D.C Gay Bar After Black Woman Is Dragged Down Stairs by Her Hair

Pride is supposed to be a time of celebration for the LGBTQ community. In a world that disparages, neglects, and generally doesn’t protect queer and trans people, Pride celebrations are supposed to be one of the few out and out safe spaces for the community. Unfortunately, a security guard at a Washington, D.C., gay bar had no regard for any of that when he dragged a Black woman down a flight of stairs by her hair.

According to HuffPost, footage of 22-year-old Keisha Young being dragged down the stairs went viral over the weekend and resulted in protests outside of Nellie’s Sports Bar. Young told WUSA reporter John Henry on Sunday that she “got mixed up in the altercation because I looked like somebody else.

“There was an altercation in there and they were trying to get some other people out because somebody else brought a bottle in there,” she told Henry. “I got hit and dragged down the steps. I didn’t do nothing wrong, and that’s all I remember. First walking up the steps, and then getting dragged right back down the steps.” Young said that she lost her phone and her glasses during the altercation.

The video of the incident shows people at the base of the steps swinging on the security guard, which yes, that’s what any reasonable person should do in that situation. Seriously, who the fuck drags a woman by her hair, down some stairs, over a bottle? That’s first-ballot Trash Nigga of the Year shit.

From HuffPost:

Young and her father were among those who took part in a group protest outside of Nellie’s Sports Bar on Sunday. According to numerous reports, a second demonstration took place near the purported home of the bar’s owner, Douglas Schantz.

“We ask people to protest and boycott because the owner, which is a white man, doesn’t care about Black women,” one demonstrator said. “If he cared, he would come out here and be concerned about what security [has] done to a Black woman in his club.”

Capital Pride Alliance, which organized the city’s LGBTQ Pride celebrations over the weekend, condemned the “reprehensible actions” seen in the video in a statement issued Sunday.

“Pride weekend is a time for celebration and remembrance, and this incident is a reminder that we need to do a better job of protecting one another,” read the statement.

The bar issued a statement on Instagram saying it had fired the independent security vendor and had launched an investigation into the incident.

“We offer a heartfelt apology to all who witnessed the horrific events of this past weekend,” they added. “No matter what behavior occurred prior, nothing warrants mistreating, and disrespecting, one of our guests. What we can say is we have heard the concerns of the BIPOC and LGBTQ communities.”