From: Date: Tue, 21 Mar 1995 12:02:12 -0500 Subject: KFC Discrimination Protests NATIONAL GAY & LESBIAN TASK FORCE NEWS RELEASE Contact: Robert Bray, 415-552-6448; rfbngltf@aol.com Robin Kane, 202-332-6483, ext. 3311; rakngltf@aol.com KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN: WHERE BIGOTRY IS FINGER LICKIN' GOOD ANTI-RACISM PROTESTERS JOINED BY GAY RIGHTS ACTIVISTS TO PICKET KFC Louisville, KY -- March 21, 1995...Colonel Sanders, scion of the popular Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant chain, has found himself deep in a public relations hot fryer here at the corporate headquarters of the international fast food company. Local African-American civil rights leaders have been joined by gay, lesbian and bisexual activists to challenge alleged racial and homophobic discriminatory practices at KFC. African-American leaders have taken the lead in organizing protests in Louisville, including a massive city-wide picket and boycott of KFC stores slated for April 1. KFC is being targeted by the protesters for what they say are discriminatory and unfair hiring, promotion and other personnel practices regarding minority employees. In particular, they point out the severe lack of minority store managers, even in outlets located within Black communities, and ongoing intimidation of employees of color. Gay activists have added their voices to those protests and are focusing on charges of anti-gay discrimination that have recently come to light. Denise Bentley, manager of a KFC store on W. Market Street in Louisville, in 1992 was asked by a KFC management representative to fire an employee because he was gay. Bentley, who is Black and a mother of two, had hired the employee away from another fast food chain because of his efficient and courteous work manner. She praised his job performance and refused to terminate him unless the company gave a good reason. According to Bentley, KFC told her she must "fire him because of the public's perception of gay people in the fast food industry and their fear of AIDS," said Bentley. "I felt if I had to terminate this person based on their sexual orientation, then I was opening up Pandora's box and giving KFC the opportunity to terminate anybody for any reason, including their race, their weight, their disability, whatever. It's not an acceptable practice." A KFC representative in turn fired the employee while Bentley was out of the restaurant on her day off. Bentley says she herself has been targeted for discrimination since the incident. In Dec. 1993 she was released by her physician to return to her job at KFC following a work-related injury. The company, Bentley said, had guaranteed her position at KFC during her recovery. However, as of this month she has not been rehired by KFC into her original management-level position and is filing a lawsuit charging KFC with discrimination based on her disability and race. "Until we as a group stop supporting these companies as well as any other companies that show blatant discrimination, then they will not get the message that this injustice will not be tolerated," said Bentley. Bentley is a board member of the Justice Resource Center (JRC), a group of ministers and civil rights activists led by the Rev. Louis Coleman in Louisville. Rev. Coleman and JRC have played the lead role in organizing community protests, vigils, pickets and a boycott of local KFC outlets. Every Saturday for the past several weeks JRC protesters and allies have picketed outside of KFCs. JRC is organizing the April 1 city-wide picket. JRC is demanding that KFC implement fair hiring and promotional practices, in writing, for all its employees. They are also targeting KFC parent company PepsiCo and it's affiliates in Kentucky, including Frito Lay, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. Meanwhile, the issue has intensified in the local gay community because of a pending vote on a gay rights ordinance. On March 28, the Louisville Board of Aldermen will vote on a controversial measure that bans employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. There currently is no such city-wide protection. Rev. Coleman and other JRC activists testified before the Board in support of the protections. "We're joining together in unity with the protests led by the African-American leaders because we oppose racism and homophobia in the workplace," said Carla Wallace, a long-time Kentucky activist. Wallace is on the board of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), and co-coordinator of the Fairness Campaign, a Louisville organization working to end discrimination based on sexual orientation. She recently received a JRC Martin Luther King award in Louisville for her work on behalf of civil rights. "This effort was brought to our attention because of discrimination against people of color at KFC. We are also aware there has been at least one case of discrimination against gay employees. Community groups are coming together in Louisville to call attention to these injustices." It is unclear if KFC's alleged practice of terminating gay employees is a company-wide policy. KFC officials have not responded in a satisfactory way, says Rev. Coleman. Regardless, the charges -- especially of homophobia -- alarmed national gay activists, who drew a parallel between KFC and another high profile fast-food chain. "The similarity between KFC and Cracker Barrel -- which openly discriminates against gay employees -- is too close for comfort," said Robert Bray, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force field organizer. In the Cracker Barrel case, which Bray helped break in 1991, the popular "family style" eatery fired several employees because of their sexual orientation. "These cases expose the daily fear and discrimination gays must endure just to do their jobs in this country," said Bray. As it were, Cracker Barrel enjoys a brisk business in Louisville, which has no current protection against anti-gay discrimination. Local African-American and gay activists vow to continue their protest of KFC and keep pressuring the company until it acts in good faith to address their grievances. Express your concern about the treatment of KFC workers by calling 1-800-CALL KFC (800-225-5532) or contacting President David Novak, Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation, P.O. Box 32070, Louisville, KY 40232, (502)456-8300. For more information and to send letters of support, contact Rev. Louis Coleman at the Justice Resource Center care of the First Congregational Methodist Church, (502)776-7688, 3810 Garland Ave., Louisville, KY, 40211; the Fairness Campaign, (502)893-0788, fax (502)896-0577; or NGLTF's Robert Bray, (415)552-6448, rfbngltf@aol.com.