Story by Clay Morris
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—“We reserve the right to refuse entry at bouncer’s discretion” are the words printed above dress code signage at Still Life, a night club on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.
Neil Pierre-Louis, a student at UNC-Chapel Hill, said he was denied entry to the club when he arrived wearing a baseball jersey.
“Maybe not the best thing to wear. but like, I had on jeans, normal shoes. Like I feel like I definitely could have gotten in,” Pierre-Louis said.
The next day, his friend saw a non-Black clubgoer at Still Life wearing a similar outfit.
“I wasn’t really, like, pressed about it until then,” he said. “I was like, bro, come on.”
Some Black students at UNC-Chapel Hill feel the nightclub’s dress code intentionally targets Black style and culture, and that this targeting is related to a larger feeling of alienation within nightlife spaces at the predominantly white institution.
Basketball sneakers, grills, excessive jewelry and baggy or saggy clothing are listed as violations of Still Life’s dress code. A voice message that plays when Still Life is called describes the dress code as “upscale casual” with “no gym or lounge wear allowed.”
The dress code is not listed on Still Life’s website, and a sign with the dress code was placed outside of the establishment’s Chapel Hill location in October.
Still Life did not respond to multiple requests for comment or a copy of its dress code.
“Places like Still Life, they don’t acknowledge the minorities on campus if we’re being honest,” said Beverly Tabe, a UNC-Chapel Hill student and former president of Top Notch entertainment, a nightlife organization that creates events that cater to Black students at UNC. “There’s not a lot of places that are meant for Blacks on Franklin Street.”
However, Tabe did say that night life on Franklin Street does give preferential treatment to Black UNC athletes.
“I mean, if you have a person like Armando Bacot, who, you know, is a star basketball player for UNC-Chapel Hill—marketing-wise that’s great for the place,” Tabe said. “So I think a lot of these spaces utilize Black people when it benefits them. That just speaks volumes. It’s like if you’re not an athlete you don’t matter.”
Sherrod Crum, a UNC student, said the types of music played and the behavior of white patrons at bars along Franklin Street often create an atmosphere that is uncomfortable for Black students, but that they never feel intentionally discriminatory.
Still Life, however, is different to Crum, because it recreates a specific atmosphere college students generally consider to be unnecessarily exclusive: Fraternity Row.
“It feels like a frat decided to make a club on Franklin Street, and that’s the club,” Crum said.
Stephanie Cobert, director of marketing and communications for the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership, said as a Black alumna she understands how students feel about nightlife on Franklin Street.
“We work hard to make sure that all students feel welcome. All students feel included. All students are having fun and enjoying themselves safely,” Cobert said. “And that they have the right and privilege to enjoy themselves safely downtown.”
Reuben Buford May, a professor of sociology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign writing a book on exclusionary practices used by nightlife establishments, said dress codes are often purposeful exclusionary methods used by nightclubs to avoid certain types of clientele without seeming overtly racist.
“Dress is a proxy, or pretext for racial discrimination,” May said. “Ultimately these covert measures create this space where people understand they’re not welcomed.”
Pierre-Louis said he walked past a long line of fellow students waiting to get into Still Life after he was denied entry.
“I just went to Good Fellows and I forgot about it pretty quickly,” he said. “But it was embarrassing, honestly, I’m not gonna lie. Especially when all of your friends turnaround like ‘Neil, where are you going?’”
May said based on research he’s done on dress codes and nightlife across America, Black males have a 1-in-10 chance of being rejected by a nightclub due to their outfits, whereas white males have a 1-in-20 chance of being rejected because of their clothing.
“When you are rejected the pain and humiliation is so great that you opt not, in some instances, to return to the place and get the rejection again,” May said. “But ultimately end up frustrated because if Franklin Street is the jewel of UNC, then you are not permitted to enjoy the jewel of UNC the way that other people are enjoying it.”
Beverly Tabe said that feeling is why Black students are willing to leave Chapel Hill to attend nightlife events.
“It is unfortunate that we have to do stuff like drive to Durham, or Raleigh, or even Greensboro just to have that real Black experience in college,” Tabe said. “I think it just further emphasizes the idea Black students just want a space where they feel like they can have fun with their people.”
Crum said there have been times where he and his friends began to feel uncomfortable in bars on Franklin Street when surrounded by white students.
“A bunch of us went to Good Fellows and we were having a good time, we were drinking, we were dancing,” Crum said. “And then like you could just see how we were getting stares, the rest of the club was not vibing with it and we were just like ‘Dang, this is what it is.’ This is Chapel Hill.”
That feeling of isolation, whether it be related to a dress code or not, is purposeful, but not exactly racist, May said.
“If you go in, you’ll see some Blacks. There’s always going to be that case,” May said. “But there’s ways that they limit, and part of those ways includes dress codes, differential pricing, includes overall treatment, So if you don’t feel welcome you’re not going to go back. And the goal is for the owners to limit the number of Blacks that are in the establishment.”
The author of this article was dress coded at Still Life for wearing a sleeveless vest.
