Jim Boggess hoped to celebrate his heritage and connect with his local community in a meaningful way. As the owner of a deli in downtown Flemington, he believed he had found the perfect expression of that vision. One day, passersby on Main Street were greeted by a handwritten sign in his deli window that read: “Celebrate Your White Heritage in March — White History Month.”
The sign didn’t generate the reaction Jim Boggess had hoped for. Instead, it quickly drew criticism—most notably from Bhakti Curtis, a longtime customer of the deli. Curtis, who is of mixed-race heritage, was deeply disturbed by the message and felt it was a direct affront to Black History Month. He took his concerns to the Flemington Police Department, where he filed a formal complaint. Curtis also highlighted a troubling detail: the way the “T” in “WHITE” had been stylized resembled a symbol associated with the Ku Klux Klan.
While local authorities determined that the sign was not legally racist or offensive, the fallout for Jim Boggess continued to grow. For nearly four days, he fielded questions and criticism before finally choosing to take the sign down. But by then, the damage had been done. Customers began to stay away, and his business—which was already on shaky financial ground—started to unravel.
Just a month after the controversy began, Boggess was forced to close the deli for good. This outcome came despite a public reconciliation with Bhakti Curtis, with the two men even posing for a photo together, shaking hands in a show of mutual understanding.
In a last effort to recover, Boggess turned to the community for help, launching a GoFundMe campaign titled “Jimbo’s White History Sign Gone Bad.” He shared that he had received an outpouring of support from people across the country—letters, messages, and donations offering encouragement. But despite the goodwill from afar, his local customer base continued to shrink. In the end, the controversy proved too much to overcome, and Boggess watched his American dream slip away.
