In a misguided attempt to celebrate his heritage, Jim Boggess, the owner of a deli in Flemington, put up a handwritten sign in his store window that read, “CELEBRATE YOUR WHITE HERITAGE IN MARCH, WHITE HISTORY MONTH.” The sign was meant to be a way for Boggess to share his pride in his heritage with the community, but it ended up having the opposite effect.
The sign sparked outrage among some customers, including Bhakti Curtis, who was of mixed-race descent. Curtis was deeply offended by the sign, which he felt was mocking Black History Month. He took his complaint to the Flemington Police Department, but the police did not find the sign to be racist or derogatory.
Despite the lack of official action, the backlash against Boggess and his deli was swift and severe. Customers stopped coming to the deli, and Boggess’s financial situation began to deteriorate rapidly. After four days of intense scrutiny, Boggess finally took down the sign, but the damage had already been done.
A month after the sign was put up, Boggess was forced to close down the deli. Despite his efforts to make amends, including meeting with Curtis and taking a photo together, the business never recovered. Boggess was eventually forced to start a GoFundMe appeal to help him get back on his feet.
In a statement on the GoFundMe page, Boggess wrote that he had received a lot of support from people all over the country, but that it was too little, too late. He felt that he had been unfairly punished for simply trying to express his pride in his heritage. Despite his claims of innocence, however, the controversy surrounding the sign ultimately led to the demise of his business.
