A Joe’s Crab Shack restaurant in Minnesota has apologized after it featured a photo of a lynching on one of its dining tables. A couple in Roseville says that as they sat down to order food this past Wednesday evening, they were shocked to discover the photo on the table top showing a white crowd gathering around a hanging execution of a Black man.
From local outlet KARE:
The Minneapolis NAACP says Tyrone Williams and Chauntyll Allen were preparing to dine at Joe’s Crab Shack Wednesday night when they noticed a photo embedded inside the table top. The image appears to show a large group of white people watching a public execution of at least one black person.
On the bottom of the picture, it reads: “Hanging at Groesbeck, Texas on April 12th 1895.” At the top, the caption reads, “All I said was that I didn’t like the gumbo.”
Williams said the pair immediately waved down a manager. “Although the manager was apologetic about the lynching depiction, that does not change the fact that this sickening image of black men being lynched was intentionally embedded inside of a table. This type of blatant racism should not be tolerated in this country, or in our local and national eating establishments. I have felt sick to my stomach and stressed out since seeing that image on the table where I was planning to eat my food,” said Williams.
Allen, who was with Williams for a pre-birthday meal, added that she was surprised to see the hateful image and stated that it “ruined” her appetite.
Both Joe’s Crab Shack and the city of Roseville issued apologies after the Minnesota branch of the NAACP made public demands.
—
Photo: KARE/Tyrone Williams
