Joe's Crab Shack Table Featured Joke About Lynching Black Men

Tyrone Williams and Chauntyll Allen sat down to eat Wednesday at the Joe's Crab Shack in Roseville, Minnesota, and were shocked at the table decoration that awaited them.

Embedded inside the table was a picture of a public hanging of two black men from the late 1800s. Above one of the men about to be hung, a speech bubble read, "All I said was 'I didn’t like the gumbo.'"

The caption beneath the picture said, “Hanging at Groesbeck, Texas on April 12, 1895.″

Williams posted about his experience on Facebook, and he and Allen's story has since received national attention.

"Seeing a picture of two black men being lynched was the last thing that I expected to see at what was supposed to be a family-friendly restaurant," Williams said at a press conference hosted by the Minnesota NAACP. "As you can imagine, seeing that image ruined my appetite and my pre-birthday dinner. It is hard to believe that this type of racism is still going on in 2016."

Williams said they flagged down a manager, who was "apologetic and understanding." The manager offered them a free meal, Williams said, but they turned it down and left, vowing never to return.

"This disturbing incident that occurred at Joe's Crab Shack demonstrates that racism is still alive and well in this country," Nekima Levy-Pounds, President of the Minneapolis NAACP, said in a post on the organization's Facebook page. "It is sickening to know that someone would make a mockery of black men being savagely lynched and then use that imagery for decorative purposes in a restaurant."

Levy-Pounds demanded a public apology from Ignite Restaurant Group, which owns Joe's Crab Shack, the removal of "any and all lynching or otherwise racially offensive imagery" from its restaurants and a donation from the Roseville restaurant to a local organization benefitting young, local African-Americans.

Ignite Restaurant Group did not immediately return a request for comment from Patch but told KARE11 that the image had been removed.

"We understand one of the photos used in our table decor at our Joe’s Crab Shack location in Roseville, MN was offensive," the statement, from Ignite COO David Catalano, said. "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.”

The city of Roseville also condemned the imagery.

"The City of Roseville was shocked and saddened to learn of the racist imagery being openly displayed at the Roseville location of national restaurant chain Joe’s Crab Shack," a city statement said.

"The City condemns this type of display in the strongest possible terms and calls on Joe’s Crab Shack to remove any and all racist imagery not only from its Roseville location but all of its restaurants nationwide immediately. This type of display is wholly unacceptable and unwelcome in the City of Roseville."

Image via Facebook