By Peyton Majors
Christian Action League
July 12, 2023
The Christian Action League of North Carolina has joined the American Family Association in protesting Cracker’s Barrel’s promotion of LGBT Pride, saying the company is alienating its customer base
Cracker Barrel last month posted on its social media channels a now-controversial picture of a rainbow-colored rocking chair on the restaurant’s “front porch.” Accompanying the photo was a pro-LGBT Pride message.
“We are excited to celebrate Pride Month with our employees and guests,” the Facebook post said. “Everyone is always welcome at our table. … Happy Pride!”
Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League, this week urged Cracker Barrel to remain neutral on the issue. He also lamented the company’s 2022 decision to start selling alcohol.
“As a loyal customer of Cracker Barrel for many years, I have cherished the warm and inviting atmosphere that has always embodied their traditional American values,” Creech said.
“However, recent changes regarding the introduction of alcohol into the Cracker Barrel dining experience, alongside the sale of LGBTQ Pride rockers, have left me feeling saddened and disheartened. It is with utmost respect that I express my concern over such shifts in policies which unquestionably deviate from the traditional values that many of us hold dear and that Cracker Barrel represented so well.”
Cracker Barrel is offending its customer base, Creech said.
“It is my heartfelt conviction that these particular changes alienate customers like myself who hold traditional American values or better still, biblical values, close to heart,” Creech said. “Alcohol is America’s No. 1 recreational drug problem.”
Other conservative organizations also have protested Cracker Barrel. The Texas Family Project said “a once family friendly establishment has caved to the mob.” The American Family Association called the company’s stance “offensive and hostile towards traditional American values and especially Christian beliefs.”
“Rather than remaining neutral on such a divisive social issue, Cracker Barrel has gone out of its way to promote the side that is aggressively disrespectful towards anyone who will not fully embrace the LGBTQ agenda,” AFA said.
Creech, too, urged Cracker Barrel to return to its core values. In a now-famous 2013 incident, Cracker Barrel continued selling Duck Dynasty merchandise when TV star Phil Robertson was criticized by the Left for Bible-based comments about homosexuality.
“LGBTQ+ rights and acceptance challenge long-held traditional values and religious beliefs in much of American society,” Creech said. “As a result, many see the advancements of LGBTQ+ rights as a threat to the nation’s healthy cultural norms.”
Take Christian Action:
1. Call your local Cracker Barrel, (get the number here) ask for the manager and let him/her know you think the company is headed down the wrong track with its promotion of a Pride Rocker. (Getting a live person at the corporate office is virtually impossible.)
2. Leave a comment on Cracker Barrel’s Facebook page here.