People protested outside Nellie’s Sports Bar in D.C. this weekend after video went viral that appeared to show security dragging a Black woman by her hair during Pride.
Nellie’s was crowded Saturday night during D.C.’s Pride festivities as most COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in the city. That’s when a video was posted online that allegedly showed a woman being dragged down a flight of stairs by a security guard at one of the most popular bars in the city.
Related: Black transgender woman brutally beaten by a crowd of men in a store
Several people grab the security guard to pull him away from the woman, and she is later seen on the floor. Punches are thrown as the situation becomes chaotic, and someone appears to punch a Nellie’s employee who is not a security guard.
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Towards the end, other security guards are pushing people out the door.
“Neillie’s brutalized Black Woman by dragging her down the steps by her hair,” wrote one person who shared the video on social media. “We need our LGBTQ fam to boycott Nellies and show up tonight.”
CW: Violence
Neillies brutalized Black Woman by dragging her down the steps by her hair. We need our LGBTQ fam to boycott Nellies and show up tonight. pic.twitter.com/wUfCAShdpU— Harriet’s Dreams (@HarrietsDreams) June 13, 2021
A protest formed outside Nellie’s at around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. Keisha Young, 22, identified herself as the woman in the video.
“It was an altercation in there,” she told NBC 4 Washington. “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.”
She said that she was sore from the attack but has not suffered major injuries, but she wants the bar to be held accountable for the violence.
“I want them [Nellie’s] gone,” Young said.
According to an Instagram post by Black Lives Matter D.C., Young lost her phone and her prescription glasses during the incident.
Protestors marched to the home of the owner of Nellie’s, which is near the bar. DeadSpin journalist Chuck Modi talked to some of the protestors.
“She was dragged like an animal”
Protest outside Nellie’s bar after pulling Black woman down the stairs by her hair. #JusticeforKeisha #DCProtests pic.twitter.com/xBpHrjf25O
— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) June 14, 2021
“We’re tired of Nellie’s only caring about Black dollars but not Black bodies. We’re fed up. None of this is new”
Protester who met years earlier w/ owner to address bar’s past racism.#JusticeforKeisha #DCProtests pic.twitter.com/aJwhxffQSN
— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) June 14, 2021
Protest returns to Nellie’s Sports Bar.
The general mood #JusticeforKeisha pic.twitter.com/mdw8yKCpHu— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) June 14, 2021
“Nellie’s has the audacity to have Black Lives Matter sign in their window. Nellie’s is racist AF”
Protest outside Nellie’s Sports Bar after pulling Black woman down the stairs by her hair. #DCProtests pic.twitter.com/ljQzdLcDek
— ChuckModi (@ChuckModi1) June 14, 2021
“We were incredibly upset and disturbed to see the unfortunate event that took place at Nellie’s last night,” the bar said in a statement posted to Instagram. “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.”
Nellie’s drew attention in 2018 when the bar flew the “thin blue line” flag. They said they intended to honor police officers who were killed in the line of duty and later apologized for flying the flag that is associated with police brutality against people of color.
“We messed up,” the bar said in a social media post at the time.
