Hate literature left at BI coffee shop

Published 1:30 am Thursday, May 20, 2021

Hate literature was found recently at a downtown Bainbridge Island business.

Jimmy Harris, owner of CUPS Espresso, said in a phone call to Michael Goodnow, executive director of the BI Downtown Association, that a customer found eight magazines that were racist, homophobic and anti-semitic in the store.

Since it is an LGBT-owned business, Harris found the act disturbing.

“These are not values of our downtown community,” Goodnow says in response.

He goes on to say that BIDA is working on a campaign, including a poster for merchants to display, that will say, “This business values diversity and seeks to provide a safe and inclusive space that rejects intolerance,” or something similar to that.

Harris was unavailable for comment at his business Monday.

The BI Chamber of Commerce also denounced the act, and advised businesses to double-check public literature areas in their locations and report any incidences to BI police.

The chamber also pointed out that the Kitsap Public Health Board recently adopted a resolution declaring “Racism as a public health crisis.” It commits the health board and health district to take action to address institutionalized and systematic racism.