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HOUSTON - A Black attorney is filing a lawsuit against Post Oak Hotel in Houston after he says he faced discrimination over what he was wearing.
Willie Powells, 45, filed a second federal discrimination lawsuit, claiming a staff member at the upscale Post Oak Hotel rudely asked him to remove his hat though there were many other white hotel patrons freely wearing hats.
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Powells says he was at the hotel for a business meeting at the H Bar.
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Black attorney sues hotel over discrimination
A Houston attorney has filed a lawsuit against the Post Oak Hotel following an incident in which he alleges he was discriminated against.
"Alleged dress code violations are often used to illegally exclude African Americans from businesses," said civil rights attorney Randall L. Kallinen.
This federal lawsuit followed the previous discrimination lawsuit he filed in 2022, he said.
According to his release, Powells says he is a Black man merely attempting to meet for business at a hotel open to the public in his hometown, and he was extremely embarrassed, belittled, and ashamed of being excluded.
We reached out to Post Oak Hotel for a statement and are waiting for a response.