Video of Chick-fil-A’s Chair Shining a Black Man’s Shoes Onstage Reemerges

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Footage of Chick-fil-A’s chairman shining a Black man’s shoes during a discussion about repenting for racism in 2020 has re-emerged following a backlash against the company over its adoption of a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policy.

Dan Cathy, head of the family-run fast food chain, was filmed making the gesture of contrition over racial tensions in the United States during a roundtable at Passion City Church in Atlanta, Georgia, in June 2020. At the time, the act was viewed as “bizarre.”

While it was intended to demonstrate a small act of redress for the historic injustices against the Black population—particularly through slavery and segregation in the United States—some argued the gesture played into the narrative of white guilt, a belief that white people bear collective responsibility for the racism of their ancestors.

The clip is now receiving fresh attention after it announced a new strategy that included promoting equal opportunities, “valuing differences” and “creating a culture of belonging.”

Chick-fil-A Chairman Dan Cathy speaks onstage during the 2022 InvestFest at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, on August 7, 2022. During a 2020 discussion, he shined a black man’s shoes in an act of contrition for racial injustice.
Paras Griffin/Getty Images

During the discussion, Cathy mentioned a story told to him by a friend about a church service in Texas, at which a young man shined the shoes of an older Black man because “he had been so gripped with conviction about the racism that was in that local community.”

“I invite folks just to put some words to action here, and if we need to find somebody [who] needs to have their shoes shined, we need to just go right on over and shine their shoes,” he said.

Cathy then proceeded to walk over to Lecrae, a Black Christian rapper, with a brush and begin shining his shoes, before giving him a hug.

“Any expressions of a contrite heart, of a sense of humility, a sense of shame, a sense of embarrassment begin with an apologetic heart,” he said.

Newsweek reached out to Chick-fil-A via email for comment.

“This is beyond the pale,” Ian Miles Cheong, a conservative commentator, wrote in reference to the footage, in a tweet viewed nearly 68,000 times. “Chick-fil-A’s Dan Cathy goes full woke and says that every white person should get on their knees and shine black people’s shoes.”

He added that he had posted the video to “provide context” for the company’s DEI “imposition.”

Others argued that Cathy should not be apologetic as he himself had not done anything to persecute Black individuals, and could not have prevented historic racism from occurring.

“This whole racism narrative is wacky,” one Twitter user wrote in response to Cheong. “Imagine your 2nd cousin gets convicted of robbery and you get locked up too just cuz y’all related and look similar…Why penalize people for something they couldn’t possibly have influenced or participated in?”

“I am Black,” another person tweeted. “Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights movement NEVER demanded people disrespect themselves nor virtue signal.”

Some disagreed with the notion that the company should face a boycott.

“This does not come close to the level of wokism that has infected Target and Bud Light,” Joel Merritt, a self-described moderate conservative, tweeted. “Sorry, but many of us will not be joining in a boycott of Chick-fil-A.”

Bud Light has come under fire from critics for gifting transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney a commemorative can of beer to celebrate her one-year anniversary of womanhood. Target was similarly scrutinized for merchandise from its LGBTQ+ Pride Month line. Both companies have faced boycotts across the country.

Earlier in the week, the fast food chain updated its website to include a DEI policy, which said the company’s commitment was “to approach this work with intention and humility, always believing the best in one another and striving for common ground.”

“Chick-fil-A restaurants have long been recognized as a place where people know they will be treated well,” Erick McReynolds, vice president for DEI, said in a statement. “Modeling care for others starts in the restaurant, and we are committed to ensuring mutual respect, understanding and dignity everywhere we do business.”

Approximately 80 percent of United States employers have DEI initiatives, according to Corporate Compliance Insights.

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