An Ethiopian restaurant just outside of Atlanta has distanced itself from a flyer commemorating the upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. holiday by disrespecting the martyred hero and another iconic civil rights figure with a digitally altered image that could result in serious legal issues for the flyer’s creator.
Atlanta entrepreneur Arthur Watkins Jr. posed the image, showing King and Rosa Parks dressed in revealing, modern outfits while apparently engaged in a sex act. He also sent an email to King’s daughter, Bernice King, CEO of Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, urging her to take action and prevent “further misuse” by the restaurant, Mela ATL.
“The use of his likeness in this context is deeply disrespectful and warrants attention,” Watkins wrote. “Dr. King’s legacy is one of dignity, justice, and equality, and we must all work to protect it.”
While King is a public figure and his image can be used freely for nonprofit remembrances on, for example, Instagram or church bulletin boards, commercial use of King’s image requires permission from the King estate, controlled by his surviving children.
That protection lasts beyond the grave.
Mela ATL Restaurant and Lounge, located in Decatur just a few miles east of Atlanta, said it did not send or approve the flyer, though it promotes an event the establishment is sponsoring. Its name is featured prominently under the image of the civil rights giants, which is crudely captioned, “He Scared of the Puss.”
“The team at Mela ATL does not condone or support the use of any flyer that misrepresents or disrespects the legacies of Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We believe in honoring these icons with the dignity and respect they deserve and stand against any form of inappropriate or harmful imagery,” the owners of the restaurant said in a statement. “
They go on to claim they were unaware of the flyer until Wednesday morning.
But several people commenting on Watkins’ post on X said the restaurant has used the flyer before. And, as Watkins noted, the person who created the flyer is selling tickets for the club event that presumably would end up in Mela ATL’s pocket.
Condemnation came quickly and forcefully:
“This is disgusting,” wrote one commenter.
Said another: “Who keeping them in business? That’s where it starts.”
“This is just so gross and disrespectful,” added a third.
Many want to see the restaurant closed for good.
“Thank ya.. We not doing this .. This year..” declared a commenter on X.
