KC district changes controversial dress code

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The company that operates Kansas City’s Power & Light entertainment district across the street from the Sprint Center has relaxed its dress code, which critics claimed discriminated against young blacks.

A city official told the City Council on Thursday that restrictions against baggy clothing, undershirts, sweatshirts and athletic attire have been removed. The only prohibitions are for profanity on clothing, sleeveless shirts on men, sweatpants and full sweatsuits.

“It’s been significantly modified…for the better,” Mickey Dean, civil rights manager for the city’s human relations department, told The Kansas City Star. “Now we don’t have to deal with this subjectivity about what’s too baggy or what’s too long.”

The Cordish Co., which operates the district, said it has made “subtle shifts” to the dress code to keep pace with changing times. The company has been working with an oversight committee of community leaders to address complaints that the taxpayer-subsidized district treated black patrons unfairly.

“It is our steadfast commitment, and we are absolutely confident that the dress code has and will continue to be enforced in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner,” Kevin Battle, chief operations officer for the district, told the Star.

The change comes in advance of some major African-American conventions downtown.

The NAACP National Convention is scheduled for July 10-15, and the National Baptist Convention USA — one of the largest African-American religious conventions in the nation — is Sept. 6-10.

“There were many of us who were extremely concerned that delegates to the NAACP National Convention might have a bad experience in the Power & Light District, due to the problems reported in the past,” Councilman John Sharp said. “These corrective actions are long overdue, but better late than never.”

Despite the relaxed dress code, Cordish said it will not tolerate disruptive appearance or activity.

“Management reserves the right to deny entry or remove any individual who does not comply with the code of conduct,” the company says on its website. “Please note that the dress codes of individual venues may vary.”

At least one lawsuit has been filed over the district’s dress code. A black family who says it was denied entry last summer into the Mosaic Lounge is suing the district in federal court. Family members say they were kept out because of the way dressed, while whites wearing similar clothing were allowed entry.

Arthur A. Benson II, who represents the family, said the lawsuit is proceeding.

Battle said the Mosaic Lounge allegations were “baseless,” and “we are confident the tenant will prevail in court.”

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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.