* Warning: This is an unofficial, introductory copy of the bill.
The official copy considered by the City Council is the first reader copy.
Introductory*
City of Baltimore
Council Bill R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Clarke
A Resolution Entitled
A Council Resolution concerning
title
Drop the Dress Code
For the purpose of calling on Atlas Restaurant Group, as a community partner with a large footprint along the Baltimore waterfront, to set an example and be a leader in racial sensitivity and social justice by eliminating its dress code entirely as non-inclusive, divisive, and out of step with the values of the City and calling on Atlas to adopt corrective policies that will assist in the long-term to dismantle the discriminatory culture that led to an African-American child and his mother being denied food service.
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Recitals
On June 21, in the midst of protests and demonstrations calling for better treatment of African-Americans by the police and a greater focus on racial equity and justice, a mother and her son, both African-Americans, sought guest service at Ouzo Bay in Harbor East. They were denied entrance because of the restaurant’s insistence that the 8-year-old was wearing clothing in violation of the restaurant’s dress code policy. When the mother pointed out that a white child in the restaurant was wearing similar clothes and had obviously been seated regardless, the restaurant had no viable or rational excuse, but the mother and child were refused service and turned away.
In the days that followed, Atlas Restaurant Group, the owners of Ouzo Bay, issued an apology along with several actions designed to remedy what took place on June 21. Included in those actions ...
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