In February 1991, Cracker Barrel, a southern country food restaurant, announced a policy that discriminated against current and future employees based upon their sexual preferences. The new hiring practice banned people “whose sexual preferences fail to demonstrate normal heterosexual values which have been the foundation of families in our society.” As a result, several employees in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina lost their jobs. One person’s separation notice said, “This employee is being terminated due to violation of company policy. The employee is gay” (Morris, Mar. 91).
The public’s response to Cracker Barrel’s choice to judge workers by sexual norms rather than character was not well received and political protests began flaring up in the southeast. After several more firings of gay employees, the company decided to rescind the policy and expressed a commitment to non-discrimination in the workplace.
However, this policy change was not enough to assuage some individuals as there was still no federal law prohibiting workplace discrimination based upon sexual orientation. The lack of laws preventing discrimination based on sexual orientation spurred some citizens into organized action. In December 1991, a diverse group of people known as the Triad Coalition to Boycott Cracker Barrel collectively gathered to voice their anger of this injustice in front of the local Cracker Barrel. They carried signs out in front of the store to alert passersby and patrons alike of the franchise’s faults. They read, “Cracker Barrel Now Firing,” “Federal Protections Now,” and “Waiter, There’s a Bigot in My Biscuit.” Some customers wanted to know more, others shot obscene gestures, and some took their business elsewhere.
This demonstration would not be the only one as another LGBTQ rights association known as the Guilford Alliance for Gay & Lesbian Equality (GAGLE) also organized a Cracker Barrel protest several months earlier in March 1991. According to their mission statement, the group “is a grassroots organization of gay men, lesbians, and allies committed to the complete political, legal, economic, and social equality of all people, regardless of their sexuality. We are fighting the discrimination that faces gay and lesbian citizens and threatens the rights of every citizen. Black and white. Young and old. Female and male. The Guilford Alliance is people who care about human dignity -- people like you.”
A flyer found in the Marnie Thompson Papers series in the Martha Hodges Special Collections and University Archives shows the considerable care and planning by GAGLE which contributed to the protest’s success. Along with providing basic information like than the where, when, and why, the document addressed the specifics of the plan: identifying GAGLE leaders with stickers, so protesters know who to turn to for help; instructing to eat a small amount, but to make sure protesters treat and tip their servers well, for they harbor no ill will towards Cracker Barrel’s employees; recommending to wear one’s Sunday best mirrors the meaning of Civil Rights protesters wearing their finest to convey the righteousness of their actions; guidelines on how to pay and conduct oneself with the manager illustrates the protesters’ exemplifying gracious and deserving customers, which contributes to the stressed declaration that the protest is “NON-VIOLENT” and “LEGAL.”
Indeed, this flyer serves as an artifact for times of age-old oppression being met with community opposition. A point on the timeline that gives context to the history experienced today.
Written by Shelbi Webb
