20 BOCNEWS.com AUGUST 2018 Black Negro Cornbread Cornbread is cornbread. So what exactly is Negro cornbread? That is what members at New Nation Church were wondering when they received a pan of cornbread from Famous Dave's Barbeque labeled 'Black Negro Cornbread.' "You questioned if the way they labeled it was accidental, said Superintendent Rev. Patrick Demmer of Graham Memorial C.O.G.I. C and Greater Denver Metro Ministerial Alliance. "Let's say it's true. I am not con- vinced. And the one thing that is not a mistake is your attitude,” further expressed Rev. Demmer. "Attitudes are on purpose and they are direc- tive." Several ministers along with the senior pastor, Rev. Arthur Porter of New Nation Church, gathered to pro- test in front of a Famous Dave's establishment that sent the church an order of food, including a pan of cornbread labeled ‘Black Negro Cornbread.' The food was ordered from Famous Dave’s as part of the church’s annual Father's Day ban- quet. "If you saw that as an African American you would be offended,” said Rev. Porter. "But that was not the worse thing that happened. Our culinary director Alflita Smith called to talk to the manager, the manager became offended and told her she was offended for being accused of being a racist and made all these excuses." "We explained how it was racially insensitive, but they would not hear us. Had they simply said we apologize and it was racially insensitive, then we would have accepted that and got a refund. They wouldn't do that." Rev. Porter continued to express that anyone is obligated to stand up for their rights and the rights of oth- ers in the community. "Famous Dave disrespects Black people. They want black dollars, but don't respect black people." Rev Terrence Hughes, president of the Greater Denver Metro Ministerial Alliance also weighed in on his con- cerns on the ordeal and protesting Famous Dave's for being racially insensitive. "We organized this protest because they - Famous Dave's - did not make that call to Pastor Porter. We don't know what the truth is because it doesn't make sense. But we do know what was written on that pan of corn- bread." For me, Rev. Demmer added, "Their attitude says 'we don't care'. We are offended because you have the nerve to be offended. How can you not be offended when an African-American pastor and his congregation receive an order and one of the pans is labeled 'Black Negro Cornbread.’” According to Rev. Porter, a meeting was scheduled with Famous Dave and their attorneys but did not happen. Instead, he said the church will pur- sue their complaint against Famous Dave’s with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. In a statement from the church: “This incident with Famous Dave’s is not about a labeling system that Dr. Porter and New Nation Church does not understand and is being over- reactive and hyper-sensitive about. What Famous Dave’s did, has seri- ous repercussion and is prevalent on American society. It can not go unchecked and must be corrected. The issue is racism, implicit, and explicit bias and the scapegoating of their Mexican-American employee who can not understand English and so wrote on the order. All of these serious and harmful issues are preva- lent in Trump’s America. Therefore, we cannot sit idly by and allow this to happen because it would be der- eliction of Dr. Porter’s civic duty and obligation, as a member of and leader within the African American commu- nity.” New Nation has now been subject to threats because of retaliatory state- ments made by Famous Dave’s leav- ing some individuals in the public to believe the church overreacted. Action remains in place to con- tinue picketing different Famous Dave locations and show how this is now a corporate issue. Those with the ministerial alliance and members of New Nation Church strongly believe Famous Dave's should follow in the corrective model that Starbucks took when shutting down its stores across the country in order to retrain, reedu- cate, and sensitize their employees on providing excellent service to everyone in the public - not just a select few. Sparks Flew in '82 It's our 35th year Wedding Anniversary. It all start- ed back in 1982. It was a Sunday night service at All Nation Church of God in Christ. The Pastor was Bishop P. H. Porter Jr. Philip was sitting on the front seat. He kept turning around waving at me because his sister was sitting beside me and she was telling me that he was her oldest brother. He was helping with taking up the offering. He passed me and smiled. Shortly after that church service was over I was standing outside in front of the church waiting for my ride home and he said "Hi!". He was with other young men from the church and they was pressuring him to go because they were going to the House of Pie like everyone else. Every young person met up there after church in those days, so he turned to me and asked me "Can I get your number?" I was managing a twelve unit apartment complex and I was a manager at a store so I gave him my work number because I was a single woman living alone. It wasn't a custom of mine to give out my phone number. He showed up at my job looking at magazines but he hadn't bought anything yet. He asked me to go on a dinner date and he took me to the Wellshire Inn Restaurant on South Colorado Boulevard. I knew then that he was a good catch when he took me to a really exclusive restaurant. Then he asked me on a date to go to the stock show and me coming from the Midwest! I dressed like a west coast girl in some cream color cowboy boots, a sequined top, and some winter white pants to go to the stock show. While walking, some white cowboys started looking at me, so that was the first time Philip reached for my hand to let everybody know that this woman was taken. After that night he asked me to be his girlfriend and I said "YES" so we started dating. We dated for six months and in the next six months we pre- pared our wedding and have been married for 35 years now. Here we are today Celebrating 35 years of Marriage. That's why our theme song is "Endless Love." By Sheila Smith COMMUNITY ANNIVERSARY By Essie Porter