A popular New York bagel shop has become embroiled in a blackface row over its cartoon mascot.
Bo’s Bagels in Harlem was recently engulfed in heated discussion over its wooden advertising board crafted in the shape of a cartoon bagel wearing sunglasses.
The life-sized cutout, created by artist Tom Sanford, featured white sneakers, teeth grills that spelled out ‘Harlem World’ and a gold ring emblazoned with the lettering ‘NYC.’
And it sparked uproar on social media after TikTok creator Anastazia X headed to the eatery.
In a clip shared on Monday, the content creator explained how her friend, Harlem-based photographer Carl Broady, had been the one to bring the sign to her attention.
Carl had taken to Instagram over the weekend to blast the cartoon creation as a ‘harmful, disrespectful caricature of black people.’
He wrote a lengthy caption to ‘condemn’ the sign’s ‘offensive’ appearance, adding: ‘The sign’s exaggerated features, bulging lips and teeth, and darkened skin tone, along with the overall presentation, recall the racist caricatures historically used to degrade Black people.’
Carl’s post concluded: ‘I recognize that a white artist creating Harlem-inspired work is not inherently disrespectful, and a photograph alone cannot reveal the artist’s or owners’ intentions.
A popular New York bagel shop has become embroiled in a blackface row over its cartoon mascot
Bo’s Bagels in Harlem was recently engulfed in heated discussion over its wooden advertising board crafted in the shape of a cartoon bagel wearing sunglasses
‘But good intentions do not undo the damage of the imagery with painful historic roots. Impact matters and this sign demands accountability.’
Anastazia then explained that she had gone to look at the ‘blackface bagel,’ which she branded as ‘problematic.’
The internet personality claimed that she had contacted the owners but had received no response and so was now turning the discussion into a ‘public conversation.’
Bo’s Bagels co-owner Ashley Dikos has since spoken to the Daily Mail about the controversy.
She explained that since opening the store, the business has orchestrated an art program through which it commissions local artists to create pieces for the shop.
And Sanford, who became close friends with Dikos and her fellow owner Andrew Martinez after being a longtime customer, became one of them.
‘He’s a really great artist and we love his work so we wanted to put a sandwich board outside – basically like a chalkboard that we could advertise specials. And [Sanford] created it and we put it out about a month and a half ago.’
Dikos continued: ‘We thought it was pretty cool. We thought it celebrated hip hop culture, Harlem culture. It’s a bagel so it’s not a person – just a cartoon.’
Dikos explained that Martinez (pictured) is now planning to share a response publicly on social media, adding: ‘We want to be really thoughtful about our reply’
The co-owner said a store manager had reported that a customer, who the duo knew, had ‘voiced some concerns’ about the board but without contact details could not reach out.
‘But we knew we’d see him around town at some point and we will discuss it with him face to face,’ Dikos added.
She said that the owners had responded to Anastazia’s email about the board representing a ‘negative cultural stereotype’ to welcome a discussion alongside Sanford since he had ‘100 percent creative control over it.’
Despite this, Dikos claimed Anastazia posted her video without acknowledging their response.
‘She has said she’s not an influencer and that she wasn’t looking for clicks or anything – and I believe her.
‘I certainly don’t believe that she was trying to cause what it caused but, obviously, when you go on the internet, and you call something blackface that can be a really dangerous thing to do,’ Dikos continued.
‘The internet can be a really rageful place and it’s very toxic. It snowballed.
‘We were very taken by surprise. We were just not at all ready for this. And then the phone calls and the attacks started happening.’
Both the owners and staff reportedly received harassment via phone and email.
Sanford (pictured), whose work portraying the New York Knicks was displayed in City Hall back in June during the finals, defended his creation
Dikos said that the mascot was removed immediately.
‘We figured that no matter what our intention was, which was obviously not any kind of negative intention, we felt that it’s become something a little bit bigger than what we ever expected it to be,’ she told the Daily Mail.
She explained that Martinez is now planning to share a response publicly on social media, adding: ‘We want to be really thoughtful about our reply.’
‘Our intention was to support local art and to advertise specials – it wasn’t really supposed to be a racially charged thing.
‘We are just people that serve breakfast. We hire people in the community. Our whole mission is really more community focussed.
‘This has just gotten way out of hand. We’re just a small business that was trying to do something fun,’ Dikos concluded.
Sanford, whose work portraying the New York Knicks was displayed in City Hall back in June during the finals, also spoke to the Daily Mail about the uproar.
The artist, who has worked in Harlem for 25 years, began by thanking Bo’s Bagels and its owners.
‘I not only appreciate but absolutely rely on my community’s support to sustain my career.
‘For more than a decade, I have made work that exists in, and is about, the neighborhood I have called home for 30 years, where I raised my children, and from which I draw my artistic inspiration.’
He continued by stating that the store gave him creative control and ‘fully supported his artistic vision.’
‘I am sorry and saddened to learn that a few people dislike my Bagel Guy cutout. As an artist who exhibits publicly, I know it’s not uncommon for some people to dislike my work, and occasionally they let me know. That’s fine with me,’ he shared.
‘I was surprised, however, that a few people felt the Bagel Guy was racially insensitive.
‘I understand that in our current culture, any representation of people cannot escape the subtext of race, and with it the painful history of racial injustice in this country. But this is a cartoon bagel.’
He concluded: ‘Harlem’s claim to being the chrysalis of so much that is vital and creative in American culture is real, and as an artist who calls this neighborhood home, I want nothing more than to celebrate that culture.
‘That was my intent, and the overwhelming majority of people who have reached out to me about the Bagel Guy seem to see it the same way.’
Anastazia has since told the Daily Mail that she did not intend for the store or its employees to be met with such backlash, stating: ‘I do not condone online or in-person harassment, especially not towards the shop employees.’
She continued: ‘My goal with the initial video was to open a neighborhood conversation about the bagel because the Harlem residents who originally complained had not received a formal response.
‘This discussion has resonated far beyond the block.’
Anastazia concluded by urging ‘everyone with strong emotions to hop into a voting booth’ at the upcoming elections.
Elsewhere, Martinez took to Bo’s Bagels’ official Instagram page to tease his upcoming response.
He wrote: ‘We don’t spend our lives on the internet and had other more pressing things that we were dealing with, but now I have some time to focus on this and our response is coming soon. Hang on to your butts.’
