Jim Boggess wanted to share his background with the people in his neighborhood. Boggess, a Flemington deli owner, believed he had figured out the finest way to carry out his plan. “Celebrate YOUR WHITE HERITAGE IN MARCH, WHITE HISTORY MONTH” was a handwritten sign that welcomed customers passing by the Main Street deli window.
The reception of this placard was not what Boggess had anticipated. Bhakti Curtis, one of his clients, spoke out loudly against the placard. Being of mixed-race descent, Curtis was infuriated upon seeing the placard.He said that the “T” in “WHITE” was crossed in a way reminiscent of the Klan, and that the sign was “mocking Black History Month.”
Although the sign was not deemed racist or disparaging by the authorities, Boggess was going to suffer additional repercussions. He was forced to stand in front of the placard for four days before removing it. But the harm had already done. Consumers stopped visiting the deli, and his financial condition continued to deteriorate.
After posting the sign for a month, Boggess was forced to shut down the deli. This occurred even after he had expressed regret to Curtis and the two even had their hands shaken in a photo.
Boggess was ultimately compelled to ask for governmental assistance. The name of his GoFundMe page is “Jimbos White History Sign Gone Bad.”
The text on the page says:
“If you haven’t heard of this story and you want to read about it, just google Flemington white history or go on YouTube and search White History Month. Anyway, it went crazy for four days and then I had to take the sign down for various reasons. It was only supposed to be a white thing, but people read more into it than that.
I don’t think I deserve this just because I wanted to be proud of being white and be able to celebrate my heritage like everyone else does. If you read this, please leave a comment and what state you’re from so I can see where my support is coming from.
Thank you for all the support and I WILL stay strong and hope to find a job.
Thank you,
Jimbo Boggess”
Boggess claimed that he was inundated with messages of support from people around the nation. In spite of this, he lost his American dream and his clients stopped visiting.
