MEMPHIS, Tenn. — “It’s absolutely absurd, it’s ridiculous, it’s stupid,” Randle Catron said.

Catron, who runs the Beale Street Development Corporation, is upset about the new cover charge to get on Beale Street.

“That’s unfair, it’s unconstitutional, and I will fight them to the bitter end,” Catron said.

Catron is planning to file a lawsuit against those responsible for implementing the cover charge.

“You’re targeting one group of people and that’s African-Americans and when you do that you stepped on my toes,” Catron said.

The Beale Street business owner claims the $10 fee discriminates against underprivileged black people.

“When it’s all said and done you can sugar coat it any kind of way you want to. When it’s all said and done. It’s racism at it’s best,” Catron said.

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Ty Agee, president of the Beale Street Merchants Association, said he disagrees with Catron’s claims.

While many of the late night patrons on Beale Street are African-American, merchants said it had nothing to do with the change. Instead, implementing a fee was about safety.

“We weren’t thinking in terms of race,” Agee said.  “We were just thinking of right or wrong and trying to do what’s right for Beale Street.”

The cover charge was put in place one week after a video surfaced on the internet of a man beaten and passed out on Beale Street.

“It’s strictly just trying to help and not get anybody else hurt. That’s all we were trying to accomplish. There was no hidden agenda here,” Agee said.

Catron isn’t buying Agee’s explanation.

“There’s never been a charge on Beale Street and there’s not going to be a charge on Beale Street,” Catron said. “That’s it!”

As of Monday, there was no word on when the lawsuit is expected to be filed.