As if there haven’t been enough incidents to go down at Cracker Barrel. A TikTok user made a video revealing the workers at a Cracker Barrel in Arizona used a code word to refer to Black customers, reported Newsweek. A Cracker Barrel spokesperson responded condemning the actions of the employees responsible.
User @cinnamnhoney posted a video gaining 237,000 views sharing how she learned about the “code word” while working at the restaurant.
From Newsweek:
“a waitress used to complain SO MUCH if i sat ‘Canadians’ in her section & i was so confused bc i thought Canadians were stereotyped as nice,” she wrote in her caption.
In the video itself, she looks pensive, as the on-screen caption reads, “me, a hostess at cracker barrel, wondering how every employee knew a table was full of Canadians even though they didn’t have a telling accent.”
After a few seconds, the video cuts to a new caption: “’Canadian’ was a code word for Black people”.
Apparently, the use of the word to code name Black people isn’t new. Newsweek reported a Texas district attorney, Mike Trent, referred to Black jurors as “Canadians” in a memo. He tried to cover his ass claiming he actually thought Canadians were on the jury but it was later confirmed there couldn’t have been as jurors are required to be U.S. citizens.
Another example of the use of this code word was examined in a discussion by Canada’s National Post. One responder said their friend who was a waitress would refer to “inner-city” families who didn’t tip as “Canadians.”
Cracker Barrel responded to the surfacing of the video and told Newsweek they will look into the matter further.
“We only recently learned about this video and have not had a chance to identify or speak with the relevant individuals. Obviously, racism has no place at Cracker Barrel and any actions like the ones described in the video would be against our policies, beliefs and who we are as a company,” said a Cracker Barrel spokesperson to Newsweek.