In an attempt to commemorate his heritage, Jim Boggess, the proprietor of a deli in Flemington, hung a handwritten sign in the window of his establishment that said, “Celebrate Your White Heritage in March, White History Month.” This was a mistaken attempt to honour his lineage. Boggess intended for the sign to serve as a means of cultivating relationships with members of his community; nevertheless, it ended up having the opposite effect.
In particular, one of Boggess’ customers, Bhakti Curtis, who was of mixed-race origin, expressed her indignation in response to the placard. In his opinion, the sign was making fun of Black History Month, which caused Curtis to feel a great deal of offence. In addition, he brought attention to the fact that the letter “T” in the word “WHITE” was crossed in a manner that was comparable to the KKK’s style.
In spite of the fact that the authorities did not discover any evidence of racism or language that was disparaging, the damage had already been dealt. After a period of four days, Boggess was compelled to remove the sign; nevertheless, the reaction had already begun. Boggess’s financial situation began to deteriorate as a result of the fact that customers stopped coming to the deli regularly.
A month after the sign was hung, Boggess was compelled to shut down the deli because of the circumstances. It was impossible to repair the harm that had been done to his company, despite the fact that he had made peace with Curtis and even taken a picture with him.
In a last-ditch effort to change his circumstances, Boggess launched a GoFundMe campaign in the hopes of receiving financial assistance from the general public. He said in his appeal that he had merely intended to commemorate his background and that he had no intention of offending anyone other than himself.
Boggess’s company was beyond repair, despite the fact that it had received support from people all around the country. One mistake had caused his American dream to be shattered, and now it was up to him to pick up the pieces and move on with his life.
