The following online petition was posted earlier this year by Juntos in Philadelphia. Recently, news of the “Illegal Tacos” restaurant is starting to spread on the internet. People are posting comments about why the name is so damn problematic.
A new taco shop opened up on Broad and Lombard Streets in South Philadelphia, offensively donning the name “Illegal Tacos.” The owner has gone on record in a Philly.com article, supporting the use of the slur for its catchy, risky sound, saying, “The tacos are so good, they should be illegal!”
Let’s show him that there’s nothing “catchy” about racism and pledge to boycott this establishment and demand that its offensive name is removed.
Why Is This Important?
In a time when there is a president who uses racist rhetoric to describe immigrants on a near-daily basis in order to drum up support for his white supremacist agenda, naming this restaurant “Illegal Tacos” is a slap in the face to those in our community who face this harassment and discrimination in their lives.
Bragging about only hiring Mexican chefs to authentically prepare the food, as the restaurant’s owner Florian Furxhiu stated in the Philly.com piece, only makes things worse. Once again our community is valued only for their labor and not their humanity. If Furxhiu wants to open an authentic Mexican restaurant, he should do so in solidarity with the folks making his food and from whose culture the recipes come, and not name his restaurant after a dehumanizing slur.
TO ACCES THE PETITION, CLICK HERE.
By the way, this is a photo of the owner from their Facebook page.
PS: If you wish to actually support Philadelphia’s immigrant community please consider donating to Juntos. We are a locally based immigrant-rights organization that fights for the rights and humanity of our community. To donate please go to vamosjuntos.org/donate.
