That Time Cracker Barrel Was Caught Discriminating Against Its LGBTQ+ Workers
If Cracker Barrel isn't the first corporation that pops into your head when you think of LGBTQ+ allyship, you wouldn't be alone. However, the down-home, rocking-chairs-on-the-front-porch comfort food joint made news in the 2023 Pride season alongside other national chains like Bud Light and Target (and angered the extreme right) by participating in Nashville LQBTQ+ Pride events.
The Diversity and Inclusion page on the Cracker Barrel website — which you have to know already exists to find — has an LGBTQ+ alliance subpage claiming that in the spirit of hospitality and belonging, the restaurant is "bringing the front porch to Pride." Its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Department says educational resources are offered, and inclusivity practices are regularly upheld within the company, adding that it believes in folks being their authentic selves. This is serious progress from a company that, in 1991, made it a policy to no longer employ anyone who was LGBTQ+.
There were few protections for LGBTQ+ Cracker Barrel employees in 1991
The policy was enacted at the beginning of 1991 and rescinded within fewer than eight weeks by then-chairman Dan Evins, but not before at least nine people were fired under the policy. The memorandum on the policy claimed that Cracker Barrel was founded on "a concept of traditional American values."
It went on to say that continued employment of folks "whose sexual preference fails to demonstrate normal heterosexual values" appeared inconsistent with those values and its customers' perceived values.
It wasn't until June 15, 2020, that the Supreme Court ruled that sexual orientation was protected from discrimination in the workplace by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Previously, the act's language — protecting against unlawful discrimination based on sex — had been interpreted as biological sex but had no established protection for LGBTQ+ folks. This made it hard for the nine employees dismissed from Cracker Barrel — along with Queer Nation, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and civil liberties lawyers — to build a discrimination case against Cracker Barrel.
The policy was retracted in February of 1991 after multiple talks with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, with a company statement reading that it "may have been a well-intentioned overreaction to the perceived values" and comfort levels of its customers. The New York Times reported that in interviews with Cracker Barrel patrons in the small Georgia town where much of this occurred, only one of 20 voiced discomforts.
Massively changing public sentiment
Even though a loud contingent of folks are using corporate LGBTQ+ acceptance as a reason to boycott and even threaten workers, this isn't emblematic of contemporary public opinion in the U.S. The 2023 GLAAD annual Accelerating Acceptance Report found that 91% of non-LGBTQ+ Americans agree that LGBTQ+ folks should be able to live without fear of discrimination. And as far as corporate responsibility is concerned, 70% of non-LGBTQ+ adults believe in inclusion through hiring practices.
Cracker Barrel voiced its support of the community on its Facebook page, posting a photo of rainbow rocking chairs and wishing everyone a happy Pride. It racked up 44,000 comments in 24 hours, and although just over 6,100 people reacted with a sad emoji, over 51,900 people reacted positively. Former Cracker Barrel worker Dylan Greene commented, "I was very queer and very loud and proud whilst working at my small town Cracker Barrel. They always made me feel welcome at their table!" And Cracker Barrel let Dylan know there's always a seat at its table.