February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Jim Smith
SOUTH BOSTON — A South Boston bar is facing stiff fines and a possible license suspension after an unidentified bartender and several patrons told a Boston Herald reporter two weeks ago that the bar’s display of stuffed monkeys and natives carrying spears was set up in honor of Black History Month.
Tom English’s Cottage on Emerson Street in Southie is now under investigation by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, and a public hearing will be held later this week before the Boston Licensing Board.
"This kind of conduct is deeply offensive to all decent Americans as well as being illegal," said MCAD chairman Charles Walker Jr. in a statement issued last Friday. "If our investigation confirms these allegations, we will take appropriate action."
A bartender on duty Sunday night at Tom English’s Cottage offered a terse "no comment" when questioned by the Echo about the controversial display, which had been taken down late last week. The few patrons in the bar also refused comment.
Owner Tom English Jr. has not spoken to the media about the display since being questioned about it last Thursday by the Herald reporter. At that time, English reportedly claimed that the meaning of the jungle motif had been misconstrued. He said that the jungle display was put up annually around this time of year to give the bar a ‘warm" atmosphere. He vowed to fire the bartender who made the remarks to the reporter.
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February is nationally recognized as Black History Month. Since 1976, month-long observances have been held throughout the country marking African-American achievements and contributions to American culture.
The bar display featured about 20 stuffed monkeys, some hanging from artificial vines and others sitting on shelves. African figurines holding spears stood near a large stuffed gorilla.
A bartender at a neighboring Irish pub, who spoke with the Echo on the condition of anonymity, said that Tom English’s is not a traditional Irish pub. "I’d say it’s more of an American bar with a shamrock on the outside," he said. "It’s a place where some of the guys go to hang out and play some pool. It’s definitely not part of the Irish pub circuit around here."
Some residents fear that the controversy will open old racial wounds and resurrect negative stereotypes about this Irish-American community that took hold in the 1970s when residents were portrayed as unenlightened bigots for protesting the forced school busing of their children to crime-ridden sections of the city far from home.
"From what I hear, they fired the bartender and took down the display, but I’m sure that won’t be the end of it," said one elderly resident of Southie who did not want to give her name. "We’ll probably be hearing about this for a long time."
In addition to the MCAD and the Licensing Board, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Anti-Defamation League are launching inquiries into the controversy.