Some Chicago clubs use racist tactics to discourage Black patrons

Some urban nightclubs in Chicago may charge Black patrons more for drinks compared with white patrons or use other tactics to discourage their patronage, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Illinois sociology department head and professor Reuben A. Buford May investigated possible discriminatory practices in pricing and access in Chicago nightclubs by sending pairs of similarly dressed Black men and white men to 30 clubs that were located in a central nightlife district. The men visited the clubs on Friday and Saturday nights over two weekends. On average, the white testers paid $12.85 each for their drinks while the two Black testers were charged about 24 cents more for the same drinks, said May, who cowrote the paper with sociology professor Matthew Soener and doctoral students Carileigh Jones and Quinesha Bentley.

The team published their findings in the journal Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World.

While conducting observations in one of Chicago’s central nightlife areas prior to the study, May, who is Black, noted that on several occasions he was charged for ice in his drinks while white patrons who ordered the same drinks were not. He said that those discrepancies became the impetus for the current study.

“I never would have thought about differences in alcohol prices, especially with the point-of-sale computers that we have now where staff just have to push a button for each item,” May said. “I would not have known this if I hadn’t started seeing these extra charges and asking the people next to me what they were charged. And so it just made me wonder where this is going on and why?”

May has been examining exclusionary policies in nightclubs for nearly two decades, including bouncers using fictitious reservations lists or discriminatory dress codes to deny access to Black patrons—practices that May called “velvet rope racism” in a 2018 study. However, the problem is not unique to Chicago, as May demonstrated in that study. Using high-profile media reports, he tracked incidents of racial discrimination in access that had occurred at clubs across the U.S.

For the new study, the team randomly selected 30 bars in the same central Chicago area that stayed open past 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Establishments like these that focus on late-night entertainment for patrons age 21 and older typically are where anti-Black gatekeeping practices tend to occur, May said.

Accordingly, the team noted during their observations that doormen at bars in the area charged variable admission fees based on customers’ race. Establishments may use these patron-sorting strategies to discourage racial minorities from visiting or limit their numbers, practices that have been documented in prior studies conducted in other cities, the team wrote.

A pair of Black men and a pair of white men who were similar in height, weight and physical stature were selected for the study in Chicago. All of the men wore similar attire—polo shirts, blue jeans and casual shoes—that is generally considered appropriate for nightclubs.

The testers were sent to each club alone, where they were to gain entry, paying an admission fee if the bouncer imposed one. Once inside, each man was to approach the bartender and, using a standardized script, request the same drink—a single pour of a specific brand of whiskey and of cola on the rocks. Each man paid with a credit card, keeping the itemized transaction slip and customer copy of the receipt to review with May at the end of the evening.

While in the bar, the first tester to visit shared the bartender’s description and location with the other team members by group chat to ensure that everyone was served by the same person. Each tester also made notes on his phone about his interactions with the bouncers and bartenders, along with his observations about the clientele inside the club, according to the study.

Given the uniformity of their orders, that all of them used the same bartender and that each establishment had touch-screen computers to ensure standardized pricing, each man should have been charged the same amount every time, May said.

However, of the 118 drinks the Black testers purchased, there were five instances in which they were charged more than the white testers. At one club, each of the white testers paid $16.13 for their drinks while the Black testers paid $18.44 and $19.60, the receipts indicated. At another nightclub, one of the Black testers was charged $24.51—$4.07 more than the second Black tester and both of those who were white. Not once were the white testers charged more than those who were Black, the team found.

“There are motives that owners have for doing this that may not necessarily have to do with their predispositions about race,” May said. “After all, you can make the argument that there are people that go to these nightclubs that don’t particularly care to be around Black people. If you’re trying to make money, then you will use discriminatory practices to limit Black patrons’ participation so that you can retain your patronage from white people and other groups who are comfortable with one another.”

Bouncers’ biased assumptions that Black people lack the discretionary income or willingness to spend it may be affirmed when these patrons refuse to pay higher prices “and they may not choose to come back, which is the desired effect in many of these clubs,” May said.

May and other researchers have found that doormen may use racist perceptions about socioeconomic status or propensity for violence to deny admission to racial and ethnic minorities, particularly Black men. In the current project, there were two instances where doormen at different clubs turned away one of the Black testers.

At the first club, Black tester 1 was told reservations were required before midnight, although the other three testers were admitted after him. And at the second club, Black tester 2 was told that admission was limited to guests at a private party, although two of the testers had already been admitted and the fourth was admitted after him.

“This study is only a small part of a larger study I’ve done, and I’m writing a book on that right now. In the book, I’ll provide in-depth details about how these things are working in establishments across the country,” May said.