#BOYCOTT NELLIES
Protests to boycott Nellie’s Sports Bar created summer-long ‘joy space’ for Black LGBTQ community.
The #BoycottNellies protests were guaranteed every Friday night throughout the summer ‘21 in response to the viral footage of bar security dragging a young Black woman, Keisha Young, down the stairs by her hair in mid-June. Some weeks there were a few dozen people, other weeks there were over a hundred gathered outside standing in solidarity for Keisha Young and calling for the bar’s owner to meet our demands for change.
The protests took the form of block parties to create a safe space for the Black LGBTQ community while raising awareness to what organizers said is a history of racism in Ward 1 and incidents at Nellie’s, a popular gay bar in the District.
Performers came from around the country to support the protests, where cars passed by honking in support amid the music before streets were blocked off by police cars and construction trucks.
What started as one protest turned into a movement that helped raise money for Young’s legal support, sent complaints against Nellie’s to the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) and gathered a town hall to continue citywide discussions on race, gentrification and accountability in LGBTQ spaces.
Boycott Nellies Coalition was supported by Preston Mitchum, Ward 1 Mutual Aid, HIPS DC, Palm Collective, Tammy Young, As You Are Bar, Stop Police Terror Project D.C, Nya Cunningham, Vemilo, Movement Catalyst, Collective Action for Safe Spaces, Onrae LaTeal, DJ Kryptic, Iris Love and many more.
Harriet’s Wildest Dreams is grateful to every organization that came together in summer 2021 to support this effort. If you want to learn more about #BoycottNellies Campaign click here and support the work below.
