Blatant racism, racist imagery and racially charged incidents are running rampant in America. Being that it is the 21st century it sure seems like the United States of America is moving backwards when it comes to race relations.
Lynching is the practice whereby a mob--usually several dozen or several hundred persons--takes the law into its own hands in order to injure and kill a person accused of some wrongdoing. The alleged offense can range from a serious crime like theft or murder to a mere violation of local customs or from false accusations. So how can a company such as Joe's Crab Shack publicly display such a heinous act in 2016? The answer... blatant racism and disrespect for African Americans. The U.S. is still divided on race, what a shame.
America is a cultural melting pot where people from all walks of life should have an equal opportunity to good education, healthcare, living conditions and financial resources but that is only a dream for people of African descent who were born in the United States which is an unfortunate circumstance for the country and is the SOLE MAIN down fall of America. Celebrating and/or promoting the cruel death of a person by lynching because of the color of their skin is an inhumane and animalistic behavior that mentally sick human beings participate in.
Racial profiling example: Studies show that police are more likely to pull over and frisk blacks or Latinos than whites. In New York City, 80% of the stops made were blacks and Latinos, and 85% of those people were frisked, compared to a mere 8% of white people stopped (1). The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics concluded that an African American male born in 2001 has a 32% chance of going to jail in his lifetime, while a Latino male has a 17% chance, and a white male only has a 6% chance (2).
In Roseville Minneapolis a historical photo of a black man getting lynched was used as decoration on a table at Joe’s Crab Shack. After an offended patron posted it on social media, the restaurant released an apology.
Tyrone Williams of Minneapolis stated, “We just felt sick and confused, it was just sickening. It was disgusting." Mr. Williams and his friend Chauntyll Allen saw the photo embedded under laminate in their table. It seemed to capture an image of a public hanging of Richard Burleson in Texas. The sentence at the bottom of the photograph reads, "Hanging at Groesbeck, Texas on April 12th, 1895". The photo below was taken by Tyrone Williams.
Chauntyll and Tyrone did not find the racist image amusing. After documenting the photo on their cell phones, they complained to management and left the restaurant without eating. Williams and Allen were joined by the NAACP in condemning Joe’s Crab Shack for allowing such imagery in their national chain of restaurants.
David Catalano, Chief Operating Officer of Ignite Restaurant Group, released a statement to Fox 9 on Thursday apologizing for the "unacceptable" photo: "We take this matter very seriously, and the photo in question was immediately removed. We sincerely apologize to our guests who were disturbed by the image and we look forward to continuing to serve the Roseville community."
I respect the decision of David Catalano to not only remove racist imagery from that one franchise in Roseville but to remove all racist imagery from all of the Joe's Crab Shack's across America.
The City of Roseville issued a statement saying, "The City of Roseville was shocked and saddened to learn of the racist imagery being openly displayed at the Roseville location of national restaurant chain Joe’s Crab Shack. The city condemns this type of display in the strongest possible terms and calls on Joe’s Crab Shack to remove any and all racist imagery not only from its Roseville location, but all of its restaurants nationwide.
Lynching is the practice whereby a mob--usually several dozen or several hundred persons--takes the law into its own hands in order to injure and kill a person accused of some wrongdoing. The alleged offense can range from a serious crime like theft or murder to a mere violation of local customs or from false accusations. So how can a company such as Joe's Crab Shack publicly display such a heinous act in 2016? The answer... blatant racism and disrespect for African Americans. The U.S. is still divided on race, what a shame.
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| A mob of white americans smiling, grinning and enjoying the lynchings of two black american young men. Notice the man in the center pointing, he has a look of hate in his face. |
Racial profiling example: Studies show that police are more likely to pull over and frisk blacks or Latinos than whites. In New York City, 80% of the stops made were blacks and Latinos, and 85% of those people were frisked, compared to a mere 8% of white people stopped (1). The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics concluded that an African American male born in 2001 has a 32% chance of going to jail in his lifetime, while a Latino male has a 17% chance, and a white male only has a 6% chance (2).
In Roseville Minneapolis a historical photo of a black man getting lynched was used as decoration on a table at Joe’s Crab Shack. After an offended patron posted it on social media, the restaurant released an apology.
Tyrone Williams of Minneapolis stated, “We just felt sick and confused, it was just sickening. It was disgusting." Mr. Williams and his friend Chauntyll Allen saw the photo embedded under laminate in their table. It seemed to capture an image of a public hanging of Richard Burleson in Texas. The sentence at the bottom of the photograph reads, "Hanging at Groesbeck, Texas on April 12th, 1895". The photo below was taken by Tyrone Williams.
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| In the top left corner of this pic is a picture of a black man being lynched with a balloon caption saying, "All I said was I don't like gumbo". |
Chauntyll and Tyrone did not find the racist image amusing. After documenting the photo on their cell phones, they complained to management and left the restaurant without eating. Williams and Allen were joined by the NAACP in condemning Joe’s Crab Shack for allowing such imagery in their national chain of restaurants.
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| David G. Catalano has been the Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of Ignite Restaurant Group, Inc., since April 17, 2015. |
I respect the decision of David Catalano to not only remove racist imagery from that one franchise in Roseville but to remove all racist imagery from all of the Joe's Crab Shack's across America.
The City of Roseville issued a statement saying, "The City of Roseville was shocked and saddened to learn of the racist imagery being openly displayed at the Roseville location of national restaurant chain Joe’s Crab Shack. The city condemns this type of display in the strongest possible terms and calls on Joe’s Crab Shack to remove any and all racist imagery not only from its Roseville location, but all of its restaurants nationwide.
Insolent Politics
(1) - 2 U.S. Department of Justice. "The Reality of Racial Profiling." The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Accessed March 1, 2014, http://www.civilrights.org/publications/reports/racial-profiling2011/the-reality-of-racial.html.
(2) - Bonczar, Thomas P., and Allen J. Beck, Ph.D.. "Lifetime Likelihood of Going to State or Federal Prison." Bureau of Justice Statistics. Accessed March 1, 2014. http://bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/Llgsfp.pdf.
