Member-only story
The Strippers Fighting for Justice
In the wake of a nationwide movement for Black lives, strip clubs are the next industry in need of a reckoning
BammRose was sitting in her backyard on a June afternoon, when it had only been a week and a half since George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police, sparking protests across the country in defense of Black lives.
A pole dance instructor and stripper, Bamm, 24, felt the time had come to hold her own industry accountable for the racism perpetuated against Black women, who perform at strip clubs for a living. She texted the owner of Sin City, a strip club in a South Philadelphia neighborhood, where she taught pole dancing classes: “He’s profiting off of Black and Hispanic women. I asked him, how do you intend to give back to us?” Bamm alleges her employer didn’t have her number saved. After telling him who she was, he didn’t immediately respond to her question. Sin City did not respond to requests for comment on the club’s treatment of its Black strippers.
That same day, Bamm announced that she would no longer work for Sin City via Instagram.
The post attracted over 500 likes and comments from strippers and allies supporting her decision, and became a call to action.
