Supermarket Offers Black History Month Special on Fried Chicken
Wednesday, February 06, 2002
Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. – Giant Food Stores apologized Wednesday after one of its supermarkets advetised a sale on fried chicken in honor of Black History Month.
The chain’s Union Deposit store in Dauphin County had a sign Sunday saying, “In honor of Black History Month, we at Giant are offering a special savings on fried chicken.”
“It did happen. It was at that one store only,” said Denny Hopkins, Giant’s vice president of advertising. “We had a customer bring the sign to us and complain and we immediately took it down.”
“We apologize if that sign offended our customers,” Hopkins said.
Store customer Lance Sellers, 31, of Highspire, said he was shocked and embarrassed when he first saw the sign.
“I showed it to a few of the other customers … all races of people … and they all were stunned. When I approached the store manager about the problem he had the nerve to ask me why it offended me so much.”
Hopkins said the sign was not meant to be offensive. He said he did not know who made the decision to put up the sign.
Paula Diane Harris, president of the Greater Harrisburg Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said the sign reinforces racist stereotypes.
“Not all African-Americans eat fried chicken, greens and chitlins. We like salad, roast beef, low-fat chicken, just like everybody else,” she said.
Giant is sponsoring several programs for Black History Month, including having jazz bands and soul food samples at its Kline Village Plaza and Union Deposit stores, Hopkins said.
Sellers said the sign, which he still has, wouldn’t keep him from shopping at the store.
“We laugh about it,” he said. “How could they put something like that out there?”
Credit for this article comes from Fox News
