Dallas Trans News

[JoAnnDallas]

Dallas Voice - Dallas,TX,USA

Last Updated: Oct 23, 2008 - 10:22:19 PM

Trans protesters satisfied by letter from bar owner

By Ben Briscoe
Oct 23, 2008 - 8:33:43 PM

Details of city-mediated agreement not yet available

Fallout from Crews Inn co-owner David Moore temporarily banning from his bar
drag queens and transgender women whose appearance does not match their ID is
coming to a close, almost three months after it began. Moore sent an open letter
to Dallas Voice offices this week. The letter reads: "We at the Crews Inn do not
discriminate. We appreciate all of our customers. If anyone has felt offended or
discriminated against, we certainly did not intend to do so. "We believe that
all customers should have a good experience at the Crews Inn, and we take our
responsibility to ensure that seriously." The letter marks the first time Moore
has publically commented about the ban since July. It comes on the heels of
mediation that resulted from two complaints of discrimination filed against
Crews Inn with the city's Fair Housing Office. The city has an
anti-discrimination ordinance that bans discrimination in housing, employment
and public accommodations. Both sexual
orientation and gender identity are covered by the ordinance, which carries a
maximum fine of $500 per violation. The other option was mediation. It's unclear
if the letter is part of an agreement reached in that mediation because the
involved parties are not allowed to talk about
it, and the city of Dallas is still in the process of responding to a request
for that information. But a performer who was kicked out of the club three years
ago and played a big part in the protest following this summer's ban says it's a
big step forward regardless of why it happened. "If he truly means it from the
bottom of his heart, it truly means a lot to me," Sierra Nichole Standridge
said. "That takes a big person to make a public apologize like that, and that's
all that we wanted from him." Standridge and two other transgender women, Ivanna
Tramp and Celeste Williams, staged protests outside of Crews Inn weekly for a
month after the ban. The protests would have gone on longer, but rain stopped
them. The protesters hoped to at least "put a dent in his pocket," according to
Williams. The picketers at the initial protest chanted, "One, two, three, four.
Don't give cash to David Moore," and told people walking into the bar that going
inside meant
they support discrimination, too. Many turned away. An employee at the bar
across the street said business there was up by about 30 percent. That club was
at capacity, with a line outside the door for the first time in memory, the
employee said. But overall, the attention to the ban might have backfired as
Crews Inn's business initially tripled after the first article about the dispute
appeared in the Dallas Voice. An employee at Crews Inn declined to comment on if
business has stayed up since then. But the protesting did have an unintended
benefit, according to local transgender activist Kelli Busey. "This changed
everything," she said. "Before Crews Inn there was no organized trans community
in Dallas, and now we're becoming a major movement." Several of those involved
in the protest are charter members of the recently formed Dallas Transgender
Advocates and Allies. The group will work towards equality for transgender
people and full recognition of
their rights under the law, organizers said. But before they do that DTAA will
tackle spirituality. On Nov. 22, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., they will hold a
"Transgender Conversation" with the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson of the Episcopal
Church, the first openly gay, noncelibate priest to become a bishop in a major
denomination. "Our community has had trouble responding in the past to
discrimination, but no more," Busey said. "And when you look at where we're
headed, more good came out of all this Crews Inn stuff than bad."

E-mail Briscoe@dallasvoice .com
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition October 24, 2008.
(c) Copyright by DallasVoice. com
http://www.dallasvo ice.com/artman/ publish/article_ 9992.php

[Michelle Miller]

Nice...you just gotta hit them where it hurts. The bank account.

[Zarabeth MacAllister]

Yep, make it an open issue, hit the wallets, and you can get results

Zara

[JoAnnDallas]

According to the City of Dallas codes, it was illegal for him to do this in the first place. TS/CD's are protected from sexual discrimination in Dallas, TX.

[DonnaT]

"We at the Crews Inn do not discriminate. We appreciate all of our customers. If anyone has felt offended or discriminated against, we certainly did not intend to do so. "We believe that all customers should have a good experience at the Crews Inn, and we take our responsibility to ensure that seriously."

No apology in that letter, nor any indication that the ID policy has been recended.