Outrage Over MLK Strip Club Flyer Prompts Apology From Graphic Designer

It's not uncommon for businesses to use Martin Luther King Day for a number of promotions. But the decision to use the Civil Rights leader's image on a strip club flyer has caused widespread outrage, demanding an apology from the Miami Beach graphic designer.

Jeffrey Darnell Paul, owner of South Side Graphix, designed a flyer for a local strip club's "I Have a Dream Bash" that featured an image of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holding a wad of cash with scantily clad women in the background, NBC Miami reports. The image, which was eventually shared on the Internet, angered a number of people. But Paul said he did not initially realize the flyer was offensive.

"What was I thinking? Promotion," Paul told NBC Miami. "It was proposed to me like a birthday bash for Martin Luther King, I put a flyer together without thinking about the effects it would have."

Paul said he received phone calls from people all over the country concerning the flyer and said he didn't intend to be controversial.

"I wasn't trying to disrespect anybody," he said. "It was just supposed to be a promotional thing, it wasn't about disgracing Martin Luther King, it wasn't about that."

The event, which was originally scheduled to be held at The Office strip club on King's birthday, was canceled once the controversy was sparked. The strip club's management said they were unaware of what the flyer looked like until after the backlash, and decided to distance themselves from the promotional efforts.

"This is the owner's first time seeing it," manager Jermaine Robinson told the news network. "So we don't condone this. This is Martin Luther King. We respect what he did. Today is the day for us to honor him."

Paul, who is also known as DJ Big Boy, spoke about the negative feedback he's been receiving since the incident after posting the link to the NBC story on his Facebook page.

The Ignorance Doesn't Bother Me.......Just shows how people carry themselves.......And Yes I'm a Graphic Designer. Hate will get you Nowhere........

Despite the criticism, he told the news outlet that he takes full blame for the mistake.

"I apologize about it, I'm taking full responsibility," he said. "I wish it could have gone down a different way but I'm learning from it and trust me, I'm not going down that route again."

Comments

[LiBra99]

09:53 PM on 01/21/2012

The Huffington Post is using the term "graphic designer" pretty loosely....

[pioneerman01]

11:00 PM on 01/19/2012

I find this to be hilarious!

[Jeffrey Darnell Paul]

02:06 PM on 01/19/2012

All these Negative Comments just go to Show that MLK wasted His Time, Like I said Before "Let he who is without Sin Cast the first Stone".....I Admit to My Mistake, I Apologized To Everyone and yet people still find a way to Show they behind......SMH.....What the Real Problem is Everyone Acts like they perfect in this perfect world......Let's get real, They Ridicule Jesus all the Time, The make fun of Barack Obama Everyday but I guess Everybody is Ok with that....I'm nowhere near Perfect but at Least I'm Man enough to Stand by what I did....If you can't accept my Apology God Bless All of You.....

[WhatWhat1]

04:20 PM on 01/19/2012

Thanks for making an unequivocal apology. What's done is done. All we can ask now is that your future actions reflect what you've learned from this episode.
Be well.

[Jeffrey Darnell Paul]

04:38 PM on 01/19/2012

Thanks And I will.......

[UNeedAdjusting]

02:14 PM on 01/20/2012

You fail to remember your apology was accepted...until you snatched it back along with your followers.

[UNeedAdjusting]

05:32 PM on 01/18/2012

Totally lame!

[Katie5]

04:27 PM on 01/18/2012

Some black people are dense, which is why they still remain bottom feeders. Geez

[Navyman54]

10:44 AM on 01/20/2012

@ Katie 5: Oh so they DO have computers in trailer parks! Careful there "Buffy": Your white sheet with the pointy hat is showing. And for the record, that dense, "bottom feeder" sitting in the White House's Oval Office, was a graduate of the Harvard School of Law.

Do yourself a favor and don't showcase your ignorance again with such a comment as this on such a grand scale.

[UNeedAdjusting]

04:25 PM on 01/18/2012

Here's the skinny, I am reading ol Big Boy's FB page, and he's acting like the martyr. How? Then I see where he told a group of ladies that he didn't see any signficance in M.L. King being put on the flyer because he was not from here..and was Haitian. He thought he was just promoting a party. That is the most biggest crockpot of bull!. One, Haiti has one of the most pro-black curriculums there are...second he is a liar. He was educated in the Miami-Dade school system!

[Jeffrey Darnell Paul]

02:28 PM on 01/19/2012

YOU are the Liar......and the Devil Is a Liar......But God Is Good.......

[UNeedAdjusting]

02:14 PM on 01/20/2012

What the Devil got to do with me?

[SPOOKMASTER]

03:03 PM on 01/18/2012

WELL HE WAS A CHEATER...............CANT HIDE THAT FACT.......SEEMS FROM REPORTS SEX WAS PAID FOR

[WickedStorms]

10:47 AM on 01/18/2012

This is what irritates me about today's black person. They are beyond disrespectful about the sacrifices our people have made for them, and not even bothering to make of themselves. It's like don't you have any real pride in who you are? Truly!

[WhatWhat1]

04:25 PM on 01/19/2012

What in the heck is "today's black person" [sic]?
An 23 year old Black woman who was raised in the South, may be several cultural lifetimes away from a 17 year old African American young man growing up in a very integrated neighborhood in Minnesota.
Genralize much?

[WickedStorms]

07:29 AM on 01/20/2012

Sorry but the ball has been dropped all the way round.

[fenix14]

10:46 AM on 01/18/2012

Everyone needs a reality check. MLK was like Bill Clinton and JFK, a notable figure who enjoyed a little nasty fun on the side, thats why its funny. Would people really be in an uproar if the image was JFK on a presidents day promotion?

[kevin37]

01:06 PM on 01/18/2012

That's right. We have so many African-American male figures who are respected and revered that we (ourselves) can afford to belittle and tear this one down.

[Tonydeeee]

10:26 AM on 01/18/2012

While I find this to be the height of ignorance as we discuss this Repubs. have been attacking the Voting Rights Act of 1965 for which Dr. King and many others fought tirelessly for. In the name of protecting the integrity of the voting process Repubs. are pushing laws that make it difficult to vote in an effort to disadvantage minorities, students, and senoirs. Some of these initiatives are the same ones that Dr. King fought for. Requiring ID gov. ID TO VOTE, banning voting on the same day and early voting, restricting out of state student voting, requiring testing to qualify to vote, banning Sunday voting, and redistricting are efforts to undermine the Civil Rights Act of 1965. Repubs. Repubs. Know that students, the poor, and minorities traditionally vote Dem and that senoirs are going to be hard to get when the learn of Repubs. plan for Social Security and Medicare. Repubs. claim that there is fraud in the system but the facts are that no investigation proved widespread fraud and there are a few hundred out of a millions of votes cast where there was fraud. It is fake and Dr. King would fight it if he was here today.

[miketothad]

10:05 AM on 01/18/2012

Wow. Straight out of an episode of The Boondocks.

[michelleobamaok]

08:44 AM on 01/18/2012

Now-a-days, it's deemed as cool for black men to flaunt their ignorance. Such a far cry from the mighty people who were a part of the Civil Rights movement.

Where have all the real men gone with this generation? They're all sick in the head and lazy to boot.

[michelleobamaok]

08:37 AM on 01/18/2012

THESE ARE THE PEOPLE that the Jay-z's and Puff Daddies of the world have spawned.

None could walk in Dr. King's shoes or would even try---they are such ww.h.ore mongers and cowards.

[ActionLady]

08:10 AM on 01/18/2012

Ah, yes, the standard "I didn't think this would offend anyone" argument. How could he think this wouldn't be offensive to anyone??? It points to his ignorance!!! Does he really think that the we are so far removed from the legacy of Dr. King that people would be o.k. with this? I'm glad for the backlash and thank goodness the venue's owner did the right thing and canceled this event. What's even more telling is the fact that HE thinks others are ignorant for calling him out on his foolish decision and thinking that people are 'hating' on him...SMH...

[michelleobamaok]

08:39 AM on 01/18/2012

He's "gettin' that cash, and "makin" that money>" This is the only thing they speak of and know. The entertainment business uplifts the most ignorant and debased of this culture.

[UNeedAdjusting]

08:29 AM on 01/19/2012

Totally.

[eamitch430]

07:26 AM on 01/18/2012

Hip Hop has been one of the most destructive forces to my community. This ignorant fool is now playing the victim on his facebook page. If this was a white person's 'work', heads would roll. His should too. How are we supposed to demand respect when so many do not respect themselves?

[michelleobamaok]

08:41 AM on 01/18/2012

Those in hip hop think making money off of ignorance is an important marketing tool. It works for people like Jay-Z and Puffy. Through gangsta rap they got blacks to kill one another. Apparently, this "genius" is still a successful marketing tool and formula.

[fortysixandtwo]

08:50 AM on 01/18/2012

Lol. Blame the music. Really deep thinking there.