A store that came under fire for having a poster of “broken black men” on a tobacco farm removed after complaints of racism.
Misan Harriman described the Farrants billboard in Cobham, Surrey, as “triggering and racist” in a video posted to social media on Tuesday.
There is no reason why it should be there, he declared.
The store afterwards issued an apology for using the image.
Along with offering its own tobacco room where customers may purchase cigars and tobacco, Farrants also sells a variety of candies, greeting cards, newspapers, and toys.
The retailer said that the photograph, which looked to depict black people working on a tobacco plantation under the supervision of white males, was taken at the Pinar del Rio plantation in Cuba in 1907, 21 years after slavery was abolished in the nation.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex‘s photographs were shot by Mr. Harriman, the head of London’s Southbank Centre, who also claimed that it didn’t matter if the picture genuinely showed slaves or indentured servants.
This is in a neighbourhood store. He declared that the images was really upsetting and racist.
It shows a group of broken black men at a tobacco farm, with their overseers standing nearby. I’m not joking.
Farrants posted a statement on Instagram that read: “The offending image has been removed.
“We sincerely apologise for any and all distress it may have caused.”
A statement previously displayed next to the image in the shop said it was displayed to “honour, respect and recognise” those involved in the development of Havana cigars.
Surrey Police said while no formal reports had been made, officers had spoken with the shop’s owner.