Residents in Washington, D.C. are boycotting Nellie’s Sports Bar after a video showed security guards dragging a Black woman down the stairs by her hair. The incident occurred over the weekend and protests against the popular LGBTQ+ bar began on Sunday evening (June 13).
In the disturbing video, guards are seen dragging the woman down the steps by her hair when a group of bar customers intervenes. The woman later identified herself as 22-year-old Keisha Young and said the confrontation happened because the security guards thought she was someone else.
“It was an altercation in there,” she explained during Sunday’s protest. “They were trying to get some other people out because somebody else brought a bottle in there. Somehow I got mixed up in an altercation because I look like somebody else and I got hit and dragged down the steps.”
“I didn’t do nothing wrong and that’s all remember,” she added. “Walking up the steps and getting dragged right back down the steps.”
Young said she’s “feeling very warm” by the outpouring of support she’s received and she wants the bar “gone” after the violent manhandling she suffered.
“I didn’t expect it to turn into something like this, to be honest, but I’m feeling very warm that a lot of people are out here helping support me,” she added.
During the protest, a Black woman who previously worked as security at Nellie’s said the mistreatment is nothing new.
“It’s racist as fuck,” she said about the bar. “They don’t care about Black people; they don’t care about Black women.”
Nellie’s released a statement on Instagram in response to the video and protest.
“We were incredibly upset and disturbed to see the unfortunate event that took place at Nellie’s last night,” it read. “We are undergoing a full investigation of the situation. At Nellie’s, we foster an inclusive and safe environment, so events like this are completely unacceptable to us.”
See the disturbing video below. A fundraiser to help pay Young’s legal fees, medical bills and therapy has also been launched on GoFundMe here.