Signature food dishes are essential to any ethnic culture, and Black people are very familiar with soul food staples like macaroni and cheese, sweet potato pie and the glorious combination of collard greens with fried chicken, just to name a few.
Unfortunately, that cultural fact can and has been used by bigots as material for racist jokes and comments, which one insurance agency in Millinocket, Maine attempted to pull recently after being forced to closed in recognition of Juneteenth.
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Many social media users like the one seen above took notice of the sign outside of Harry E Reed Insurance Inc., which read, “Juneteenth ~ it’s whatever… we’re closed. Enjoy your fried chicken & collard greens.” [sic] The outcry from locals caused mainstream insurance companies like Progressive and AllState to end relationships with the agency according to NPR, which also reports that a mass amount of people have began leaving one-star reviews under their business pages on Google and Yelp. Their current Google reviews rating currently puts them at 1.5 stars.
Read a quote below from Progressive spokesperson Jeff Sibel that was sent out in an email from the company in response to all the controversy:
“At Progressive, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) are fundamental to our Core Values. We’re committed to creating an environment where our people feel welcomed, valued and respected and expect that anyone representing Progressive to take part in this commitment.
The sign is in direct violation of that commitment and doesn’t align with our company’s Core Values and Code of Conduct.”
