On January 19 and 24, New Orleans police and Louisiana state police raided eight strip clubs on Bourbon Street, the city’s tourism center. Male officers reportedly stood in the dressing room while the women got dressed, took pictures of the undressed women, announced the women’s legal names in front of customers, and made derogatory comments.
Now the workers are fighting back. Last night, hundreds of strip club employees and their allies marched through the French Quarter in a raucous protest.
This is part of what many see as a war on nightlife by outgoing Mayor Mitch Landrieu. He has also proposed shutting the city’s famous all-night bars early, and the city just spent tens of millions of dollars on surveillance cameras all across the city.
The city and state have used the justification of “fighting sex trafficking” for the raids, but no trafficking victims were found. However, hundreds of workers are unemployed as a result of the raids.
Produced by Reed Lindsay with production assistance from Josh Schott and Jordan Flaherty.
