In today’s episode of Companies That Need More Black Decision Makers, a pizza chain in Washington, D.C. has come under fire for being bammas by promoting a new dessert named for the district’s late Black mayor, Marion Barry.
Source: Mark Reinstein / Getty
Now, you might be asking yourself; what’s wrong with a restaurant honoring Barry with a dessert? Well, nothing, as long as the theme for the desert isn’t based on the deceased mayor’s alleged crack cocaine habit, which came to light more than 30 years ago.
That’s right, somebody at &pizza thought it would be a good idea to promote “Marion Berry Knots” and litter promotional ads for the dessert with references to Barry’s arrest for drug possession, which preceded his reelection in 1994.
From KRON 4:
Barry’s reelection in 1994 came after he served time for possession of crack cocaine. He gained national notoriety at the time for that and other reasons.
When it comes to “Marion Berry Knots,” &pizza describes the limited-time item as “doughy dessert knots” that “are stuffed with deliciously sweet marionberries and topped with a creamy vanilla icing drizzle.”
Information shared by BML Public Relations, which handles publicity for the chain, goes on to explain: “For a good time, it’s the powder that’s the ultimate headline grabber. The Marion Berry Knots have enough powdered sugar that will have customers bumping elbows to order and even force the DEA to look twice.”
The news release includes other drug references and innuendo. In one promotional photo, which can also be found on the company’s website, the knots are pictured with a small pile of white powder alongside them.
“These knots will blow you away,” reads a message on the photo — with an emphasis on the word “blow.”
Seriously, WTF is this sh*t?
Barry, who died just under a decade ago on Nov. 23, 2014, has family members in D.C. and around the country who will see this advertisement and know that this company chose to honor their loved one by disrespecting him and reducing his entire legacy down to a prior bad act. The Black community in and outside of D.C. will also witness how a Black man will always be defined by when he was at his worst even after he served three consecutive terms as mayor before being elected again after he served his time.
“I just think it’s racist. In this city, it is outrageously racist. You can print that. It’s racist and disrespectful,” Barry’s wife, Cora Masters Barry said in response to the ad to KRON 4.
Cora Masters Barry isn’t the only one who has something to say about the ad.
“I think this is definitely in very, very poor taste. And it does not represent what we stand for, especially not in this community. So very, very disappointed. It’s gonna make me rethink even buying something here,” D.C. resident Clarine Thomas told KRON 4. “Being a pillar here in our community, we want partners in our community that are going to help to make things better, not make light and make fun of something that’s really serious, like substance abuse.”
The local NAACP DC Branch is calling the menu item “inflammatory, culturally insensitive, and drug-use insinuating,” reports Fox 5. The organization is now demanding the removal of the item and for the restaurant to issue remuneration to support substance abuse prevention in all cities within their marketing area.
What’s worse is that when &pizza’s officials, including its CEO, Mike Burns, respond to concerns about the disrespectful promotion, they don’t really respond at all. Instead, they appear to be responding by doubling down on it and providing the concerned citizens with a commercial for the product rather than an actual statement.
“We’re talking about a Marion berry, that’s spelled with an ‘e’. We stuff that into a knot, drizzle it with icing and then top it with powdered sugar. It’s delicious – we can’t wait for D.C. to try it,” Burns told Fox 5 after the publication contacted him for a statement on the controversy.
Perhaps &pizza is just another company that is telling Black people where not to spend our dollars without saying it.
