Kansas City’s Power & Light entertainment district has decided to relax it dress code after being criticized that the strict rules “discriminated” against young African American men.
According to the Kansas City Star, the new dress code has removed restrictions against baggy clothing, undershirts, sweatshirts and athletic attire. The only prohibitions are for clothing that contains profanity, sleeveless shirts on men, sweatpants and full sweat suits.
“It’s been significantly modified…for the better,” Mickey Dean, civil rights manager for the city’s human relations department, told The Kansas City Star. “Now we don’t have to deal with this subjectivity about what’s too baggy or what’s too long.”
The district had come under scrutiny claiming that the strict dress code discriminated against not only African American attendance to downtown events, but also stopped various events from being held.
The change, which comes in advance of some major African-American conventions downtown, still allows management to use their “discretion” regarding events, but has relaxed the standard.
“Management reserves the right to deny entry or remove any individual who does not comply with the code of conduct,” the company says on its website. “Please note that the dress codes of individual venues may vary.”
At least one lawsuit has been filed over the district’s dress code. A Black family who says it was denied entry last summer into the Mosaic Lounge is suing the district in federal court.
Family members say they were kept out because of the way dressed, while whites wearing similar clothing were allowed entry.
