Charlotte Clymer 🏳️‍🌈Verified account

I was there w/ a large group of girlfriends. We're having a bachelorette weekend for my good friend @emilycrockett, and first on our list was a dance party being held at @CubaLibreDC. Everyone had a great time. Lots of dancing and drinking and hanging out with great people.

Near the end our time there, I went to use the restroom with my friend and before I reached the door, an attendant stuck out his arm and said he needed to see my ID. When I asked why, he said that "female" must be on an ID to use the women's restroom. No one else was asked.

This is a packed hallway in a packed club/restaurant, and this random staff person specifically picks me out to ask for ID. I told him that's nonsense, turned on my heel, and continued into the restroom. My friend is telling him that he's making a mistake.

I go into a stall to do my business, and I hear him walk in and search for me in this busy restroom full of women. He is doing everything but opening the stall doors. I ignore him, and after a few moments, he leaves. I do my business, wash my hands, and walk out.

On the other side of the door are the attendant and the manager, who says it's D.C. law that you must have "female" on your ID to use the women's restroom. I tell him he's wrong and there's no chance I'm showing him my ID. There are people crammed into this hallway. It's busy.

He insists I need to show my ID, I tell him that's not happening, and demand to see what law he's citing. He refuses to show me the law and instead says, "You being in there will make women uncomfortable." We're in the way of everyone, and a lot of people are watching this.

I was angry and needed to cool off, so I again refuse to show him my ID and walked out of the restaurant to get my bearings. I brought up D.C.'s law regarding restrooms on my phone (https://bit.ly/2MP7lQx ) and walked in, straight to him, to show him how this is illegal.

He treated me like I was being irrational, glanced over the text and said "that's incorrect". He continued to refuse to show this imaginary law he was citing and threatened to call the cops. I told him he should absolutely call the cops. Please do. He then said I need to leave.

I told him I work for the Human Rights Campaign, he's making a mistake here, and he needs to adjust his course of action. I told him this is discrimination and said he's being a bigot. He laughed and mocked my workplace. "Oh, I know you folks at [address]."

He continued to ask me to leave. I told him I'm not going anywhere until the cops are called. For several minutes near the front door, this manager continued to refuse to call the cops, his original threat, and said I need to leave.

A bouncer came up and said I need to be reasonable. I told him the situation and said I would not be leaving until the cops are called. No chance. I explained the law to him, and he continued his condescending plea for me to leave. He then grabbed my arm and pushed me out.

I stood there at the curb with a friend, feeling shattered. I wanted to cry, but my adrenaline was so high at that point that I felt blocked up. Our other friends came out along with several people who had witnessed what happened.

A wonderful person named Nicole (@NicoleLopezLuna) had seen the whole thing happen and attempted to talk to the manager after I was kicked out. She was brushed off. Her boyfriend, Edgar, came up and consoled me. He gave me his contact information to help.

Edgar is a staffer for Congresswoman @NormaJTorres and had helped organize "Latinx Noche de Baile" at the restaurant that evening. He and Nicole were wonderful. They had begun telling members of their group what happened and people were leaving.

By now, all my friends were outside, and one mentioned that she had seen a non-binary person get asked for their ID almost immediately following what happened to me. And at that point, I went to a place of anger that I do not visit often. Something had to be done.

I'm not the kind of person who calls cops, but at that point, I didn't know what else to do. In D.C., a city celebrated for its LGBTQ culture, inclusivity, and protections, it stunned me that a business could so openly discriminate against transgender people.

I was nervous placing the call, somewhat afraid they would tell me to get lost, but everything got easier after that. The operator was kind, they immediately connected me to someone, and within minutes, two patrol cars showed up to begin taking statements.

I could not have asked for a more professional and affirming experience from @DCPoliceDept. The responding officers--all cisgender men--were patient and kind in their communication, assured me I was right on the law, and radioed for their LGBTQ liaison unit to respond.

The LGBTQ liaison's first question after introducing themselves was: "Hi Charlotte, may I ask for your pronouns?" They took statements, gave my friends and I space to process this (mostly my friends trying to offer humor and hugs), and fully debriefed me on my rights.

I'm told @CubaLibreDC will face investigations by the city's licensing authority and the D.C. Office of Human Rights, the latter which I have to initiate using the police report that will on file. The officers told me I had a very strong case.

On Monday, I will begin pursuing all available legal options against @CubaLibreDC. If the manager had apologized when I showed him the law and committed to doing better, I'd still be angry, but we wouldn't be here. He didn't do that. He did the exact opposite.

A lot of people--complete strangers--walked out of @CubaLibreDC when they saw what happened. Some wanted to respect my space, and others wanted to offer verbal support. I am incredibly grateful for the allyship I witnessed last night. I needed it badly, and folks stepped up.

One woman named Mystic, a Cirque du Soleil dancer from Russia, came up to me, took my face in her hands and said: "The is the kind of bullshit Putin does. You are so beautiful. You are gorgeous." She gave me a hug and then did a standing split to make me laugh.

I am quite grateful for my friends, the officers at @DCPoliceDept who responded with professionalism and compassion, and strangers who made their views well-known to @CubaLibreDC on this blatant discrimination.

I think it's also worth noting that things might have gone very differently if I were not white, aware of the law, and connected to people who can help. My privilege helped me in this situation. Transgender people, esp. people of color, without my privilege are not so fortunate.

And now, I have a bachelorette weekend to get back to and celebrate with my friends. This is my first bachelorette shindig, and I'm not going to let the transphobic staff of @CubaLibreDC ruin my weekend. /thread

BTW: if you're looking for an easy way to help, support @CasaRubyDC with a donation. They're an extraordinary local org in D.C., run by a transgender woman of color, that's bilingual and multicultural in advocating for LGBTQ folks in the city: http://casaruby.org/get-involved/ 

UPDATE: Today, I filed a formal discrimination complaint with the D.C. Office of Human Rights and spoke with several lawyers about what justice would look like in this situation. I greatly appreciate everyone's support, and I'll continue to keep you updated on the resolution.

UPDATE: I haven't personally confirmed this, but according to reporting by a journalist at @INTO, the manager and male attendant who discriminated against me at Cuba Libre have been placed on leave pending an investigation.