Racism In America: ‘Minorities Need Not Apply’ Help Wanted Sign Blamed On Lack Of English Skills

A “help wanted” sign at a South Carolina restaurant has sparked controversy and possibly may have ruined business for its owners, according to media reports Wednesday. The sign at Kenny's Home Cooking in Spartanburg read, "Minorities need not apply" in English and Spanish at the bottom.

Sook Shin, said her husband, who’s Korean, bought the sign on eBay. Shin, who is Japanese, claimed that the entire situation was just a misunderstanding and her intentions were not to offend minorities.

She told WYFF-TV that English is not her first language and although she bought the sign, she didn’t fully understand the writing.

"I never ever meant that, so I'm really sorry. Please forgive me," Shin said.

A customer took a picture of the sign and posted it on social media over the weekend. Social media users were livid and vowed to report it to federal law enforcement; others swore they would never eat at the restaurant again. They encouraged others to follow suit.

"That day we probably only had 20 customers, and me and the other girl that was working, we didn't make hardly any money. We had phone calls all day harassing us," said Melonie Henderson, a server at the restaurant.

Henderson, who served at the restaurant for two years, said the some of the staff consists of minorities.

"The thing about it is, there's all kind of minorities in here that work. Our owner, she's Japanese. We have Spanish cooks. We have a black dishwasher,” Henderson said. “All of our customers are different nationalities. We don't discriminate against nobody."

She said the owners thought the sign “meant minors, not minorities."

Upon realizing what they have done, the owners immediately took down the sign and replaced it with another that read: “Dear Customers. I am the owner Sue. I am really sorry for the sign that posted (earlier). I didn’t know what it meant. After I know, I took it off immediately. English is not my first language. And I never thought about it again. I sincerely apologize for (everything).”

But it appeared not to have been enough since restaurant employees said as the post continues to circulate on social media, it is affecting business and their wages.

“If we don't have customers, we don't make that much. We rely on our tips,” said server Deborah Bright.

“Usually our money is good until this happened,” Henderson told the station.