Teh One Who Knocks
03-06-2015, 11:42 AM
By Lisa Fogarty - Opposing Views
http://i.imgur.com/UI4IfLv.jpg
A deli owner in Flemington, New Jersey, has angered many of his neighbors by posting a sign on his window that reads, "Celebrate Your White Heritage in March White History Month."
Jim Boggess, who is the owner of Jimbo's Deli, says he put up the sign to remind everyone that they should be proud of their race and culture.
"No matter what you are -- Muslim, Jewish, black, white, gay, straight -- you should be proud of what you are. I shouldn't have to feel bad about being white," Boggess reportedly told NJ.com.
http://i.imgur.com/BPAoqra.jpg
But not all of Boggess' neighbors and fellow community business owners agree.
On March 3, Bhakti Curtis, a bi-racial man who used to be a customer at the deli, says he saw the sign and told Boggess it offended him. When the deli owner refused to remove it, he says he filed a complaint with the Flemington police department.
Curtis said the sign mocked Black History Month and that the way the T in "White" had been crossed -- in the middle of the letter instead of at the top of it -- made it look similar to the way the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacist groups crossed their T's. The mark he was referring to has since been changed.
Police reportedly investigated and determined the sign was not racist and Boggess did not have to remove it.
Boggess said on March 4 that he would leave the sign posted as long as he could, but that even though some people were driving by, taking photos of it and giving him a thumbs-up sign, others have been pressuring him to remove it. He defended himself by saying White History Month is an actual celebration, and that he had simply chosen to observe it one month in advance.
But certain members of the Business Improvement District don't agree and have reportedly asked him to take it down. Neighbor John Puckett, who owns a bagel store a few doors down, also had strong words for Boggess. Puckett reportedly called the sign an "embarrassment" to Flemington, one that "makes us look like a town full of inbreds."
http://i.imgur.com/UI4IfLv.jpg
A deli owner in Flemington, New Jersey, has angered many of his neighbors by posting a sign on his window that reads, "Celebrate Your White Heritage in March White History Month."
Jim Boggess, who is the owner of Jimbo's Deli, says he put up the sign to remind everyone that they should be proud of their race and culture.
"No matter what you are -- Muslim, Jewish, black, white, gay, straight -- you should be proud of what you are. I shouldn't have to feel bad about being white," Boggess reportedly told NJ.com.
http://i.imgur.com/BPAoqra.jpg
But not all of Boggess' neighbors and fellow community business owners agree.
On March 3, Bhakti Curtis, a bi-racial man who used to be a customer at the deli, says he saw the sign and told Boggess it offended him. When the deli owner refused to remove it, he says he filed a complaint with the Flemington police department.
Curtis said the sign mocked Black History Month and that the way the T in "White" had been crossed -- in the middle of the letter instead of at the top of it -- made it look similar to the way the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacist groups crossed their T's. The mark he was referring to has since been changed.
Police reportedly investigated and determined the sign was not racist and Boggess did not have to remove it.
Boggess said on March 4 that he would leave the sign posted as long as he could, but that even though some people were driving by, taking photos of it and giving him a thumbs-up sign, others have been pressuring him to remove it. He defended himself by saying White History Month is an actual celebration, and that he had simply chosen to observe it one month in advance.
But certain members of the Business Improvement District don't agree and have reportedly asked him to take it down. Neighbor John Puckett, who owns a bagel store a few doors down, also had strong words for Boggess. Puckett reportedly called the sign an "embarrassment" to Flemington, one that "makes us look like a town full of inbreds."