Read extra: Progressive cuts ties with insurance coverage company over racist Juneteenth signal
Allstate, which has been approached for remark, has additionally reportedly ditched the insurance coverage company.
In an apology letter, shared on insurance coverage company Harry E Reed’s Facebook web page, Melanie Higgins, reportedly the daughter of Harry E Reed proprietor Karen Hansen, claimed accountability for the signal and its contents.
“I wish to publicly apologise for any misunderstanding or damage that has arisen out of my typical, snarky workplace closure indicators and content material,” Higgins mentioned within the publish.
Higgins confirmed she had been “reprimanded” however didn’t share additional particulars on what this had concerned.
Higgins mentioned she “rapidly wrote the word” after a loss of life within the household, and mentioned that she would “by no means in any side of the phrase be characterised a racist.”
Higgins, who claimed to be “obese” and “multi-racial”, mentioned she had been posting food-related indicators because the COVID pandemic hit in 2020, having beforehand shared indicators about scorching canines, cake, snacks, and burgers.
The company employee claimed that she usually used humor to “lighten” conditions, “usually at my very own expense”.
“I’m so sorry for any ache I’ve precipitated and the destructive consideration it has dropped at our group,” Higgins mentioned.
The insurance coverage employee urged individuals to not “chastise” Hansen, who Higgins mentioned had nothing to do with the signal “in any capability”.
“I apologise deeply to my employers of Reeds Insurance Agency for having introduced on turmoil and distaste and hatred to their long-standing enterprise on this group,” Higgins mentioned.
The signal met with condemnation this week when it was shared on social media by a passer-by.
Millinocket Town Council chair Steve Golieb mentioned on Tuesday that the signal displayed a “primary disregard of human decency”.
The city “doesn’t settle for or endorse something wanting inclusivity”, Golieb mentioned in an announcement.
Harry E Reed’s phoneline was unavailable when Insurance Business tried to achieve out for remark.
