A Joe's Crab Shack restaurant in Minnesota has come under fire after it used an old photograph of a lynching in its table decor.
The image, embedded inside the table, was captioned "Hanging at Groesbeck, Texas on April 12th, 1895," and was spotted by two diners earlier this week. Added to the photograph was a speech bubble that appeared to be coming from the man being hanged. It read: "All I said was that I didn't like the gumbo," according to the local NBC affiliate.
The Minneapolis NAACP has demanded a public apology from Joe's Crab Shack's corporate office, the immediate removal of all "racially-offensive imagery" from its restaurants and a donation to a local community-based organization that serves young African Americans, according to the report.
"We understand one of the photos used in our table décor at our Joe's Crab Shack location in Roseville, MN was offensive," David Catalano, COO of Ignite Restaurant Group, the parent company of Joe's Crab Shack, told NBC. "We take this matter very seriously, and the photo in question was immediately removed. We sincerely apologize to our guests who were disturbed by the image and we look forward to continuing to serve the Roseville community."