Sam Adams beer, which is made by Boston Beer Company, will not participate in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in South Boston this year due to concerns over how LGBT Irish-Americans are being treated.
The company announced the news this morning after a restaurant posted an open letter on Facebook saying it would no longer carry the beer because of the company’s association with the event. The restaurant’s owners posted the letter on Thursday, saying they would only reinstate Sam Adams in their place of business if the brewer changed their mind about the parade.
“Club Cafe is very disappointed that Sam Adams does not understand that the organizers of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade continue to demonstrate that they do not respect LGBT Irish Americans by excluding LGBT members of this community from openly marching in the St.Patrick’s Day Parade. It is hard to understand how a community like Boston, where Gay members of the Police force, military and others have, and continue to, put there lives on the line for ALL BOSTONIAN’s, that organizers of The St.Patrick’s Day Parade feel it is just to discriminate against us as a community, and that Sam Adams does not take seriously the impact that their support of bigotry will have on their relationship to the LGBT community and their business. Therefore Club Cafe will no longer sell Sam Adams until such time as either the Parade organizers or change their position, or Sam Adams removes its support of the St. Patrick Day Parade.–Frank Ribaudo, Jim Morgrage, and Club Cafe”
After the announcement was made that the beer will not be associated with the parade, the restaurant updated their Facebook page, saying, “Club Café wants to extend a heartfelt thank you to Boston Beer Company and Sam Adams for its decision to pull back its support of this years South Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade and standing against any organization that practices discrimination. As a result of this we are again proud to serve Sam Adams and Boston Beer Company Products. Bravo to all of you all for taking the time to share your thoughts clearly it did made a difference.”
From the press release:
“We have been participating in the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade for nearly a decade and have also supported the St. Patrick’s Day breakfast year after year. We’ve done so because of the rich history of the event and to support veterans who have done so much for this country. We were hopeful that both sides of this issue would be able to come to an agreement that would allow everyone, regardless of orientation, to participate in the parade. But given the current status of the negotiations, we realize this may not be possible. We share these sentiments with Mayor Walsh, Congressman Lynch and others and therefore we will not participate in this year’s parade. We will continue to support Senator Linda Dorcena Forry and her St. Patrick’s Day breakfast. We wish her all the best in her historic stewardship of this tradition.”
Image via Wikimedia Commons
