When Our Own Government Turns Racist
Daily racism, episode №1,245.
Black sports bar owners called me recently to see if I would represent them in a legal matter against a city in Colorado.
The city in question, just outside of Denver, ordered the immediate closure of their sports bar right in the middle of the very busy Denver Nuggets NBA championship run.
The city shut the sports bar down after neighbors called the police a few times in the past year.
Some complained about the noise (which the bar owners addressed by keeping the doors closed).
Another two calls involved shootings, which according to police reports, one was not at the bar, and another call was about some other disturbance.
The bar owners told me one of the complaining white neighbors actually came to the bar and said, “I don’t mind colored people here; I just don’t want trouble.” Circa 2023.
While I don’t practice this type of law, I told the business owners I’d at least call the city attorney as a favor to see if there was a way to resolve the matter so they could reopen their bar and not lose out on what promised to be easily the busiest two weeks of the year.
So I picked up the phone and I kid you not, here was the exchange with the city attorney.
