ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Outrage over a popular Albuquerque bar’s dress code. A sign posted at the Salt Yard has people accusing the business of racial discrimination and the business is now backtracking. It has since been taken down but many said the damage is done.
“The very first thing that came to my mind was racial profiling,” said Nikki Archuleta, the BLM Albuquerque Chapter founder. Her friend recently took a picture of a sign that was hanging outside the local bar, The Salt Yard. The sign said there would be a dress code after 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays listing off items that people weren’t allowed to wear such as chains, do-rags, grills, biker chains and jerseys. Plus no profanity, gang signs and sagging.
“When you look at things like do-rags when you look at things like grills everything else on that list pertains to Black culture the way Black folks dress and that’s something huge in our culture,” said Archuleta. “And it’s really sad to see they would attribute that to a negative stereotype.”
People were quick to criticize the business on social media. Some saying they won’t go to the Salt Yard now. The Salt Yard responded in an Instagram post saying the sign perpetrated many racist stereotypes and they took it down. Adding that they have zero tolerance for racism or dissemination and that their team will go through training and ongoing education.
However, it’s not enough for Archuleta. “Instead of covering this up with a band-aid we definitely need to fix the deeper surface issue right and that’s how internalized anti-Blackness is in New Mexico,” said Archuleta.
News 13 tried contacting the Salt Yard owner but they did not return our calls or messages.
