An image circulating on Facebook has caused backlash for a Maine insurance agency online after it showed a sign taped to the business's door making racist remarks about Juneteenth.
The sign said, "Juneteenth ~ it's whatever... We're closed. Enjoy your fried chicken & collard greens."
The insurance agency in question is Progressive affiliate Harry E. Reed Insurance Agency, located in Millinocket, Maine.
"The racism in Millinocket is real," wrote Alura Stillwagon, who initially shared the image online.
Many businesses were closed on Monday to celebrate the holiday, which was recently made a federal holiday by President Joe Biden.
Juneteenth celebrates the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, announcing the freedom of enslaved people in the state. The holiday has long been celebrated as a day of freedom for Black Americans.
Many have taken to the internet to express their frustration with the agency and the sign’s racist remarks. Due to the high traffic, Yelp has had to disable users' ability to post on the insurance agency's page.
It got so bad that Yelp also had to publish an alert on the agency's page, explaining why it disabled posts, CBS News reported.
"This business recently received increased public attention resulting in an influx of people posting their views to this page, so we have temporarily disabled the ability to post here as we work to investigate the content," the alert reads. "While racism has no place on Yelp and we unequivocally reject racism or discrimination in any form, all reviews on Yelp must reflect an actual first-hand consumer experience (even if that means disabling the ability for users to express points of view we might agree with)."
Progressive has also issued a statement on the situation, with company spokesperson Jeff Sibel saying that they are "aware and appalled by the sign recently posted at the Harry E Reed Agency and are terminating our relationship with the agency."
"At Progressive, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) are fundamental to our Core Values. We're committed to creating an environment where our people feel welcomed, valued and respected and expect that anyone representing Progressive to take part in this commitment. The sign is in direct violation of that commitment and doesn't align with our company's Core Values and Code of Conduct," Sibel said in a statement, CNBC reported.
The Millinocket Town Council has even commented on the situation. Council chair Steve Golieb denounced the action from the agency, calling it "saddening, disgraceful and unacceptable."
"There is no place in the Town of Millinocket for such a blatant disregard of human decency," Golieb said.
The insurance agency has denied requests for comments from multiple news sources.
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