Publix Feuds With Black Book Bash Over Event Sponsorship

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The supermarket chain Publix is dealing with controversy after being accused of withdrawing their sponsorship of the Black Book Bash, a literary festival being held in Jacksonville, Florida, days before the event was to take place on Oct. 3. Publix has denied the accusations, but organizers shared a different story.

According to reports, Black Book Bash organizers published a video on social media, which stated that Publix was the main sponsor. Shortly after, the organizers claimed that Publix reportedly emailed them to withdraw from sponsorship, leaving them to use personal funds to keep the event from being canceled. 

“We’re disheartened,” a communications director for Publix said during an interview with a reporter for local network WXJT News4JAX. “After conducting a thorough investigation, we concluded that Publix never agreed to sponsor or serve as the title sponsor of this event.” Black Bash Organizer Casey Kelley then took to Instagram to provide the public with a timeline of what took place in the video.

“Over the past two months, one of our sponsorship coordinators had been in communication with someone from a publix.com email address,” Kelley began. “Through multiple calls, virtual meetings, and even emails, we reached an agreement for exclusivity on the title sponsorship, and that’s not the only sponsor. It’s the title sponsor. On Sept. 22, we received an email from the same email address that stated that Publix would no longer be sponsoring. Despite that, our team pulled together our personal funds and resources to cover all outstanding balances… two days later on Sept. 24.”

When asked for a statement by News4JAX, a Publix spokesperson replied via email: “We can confirm definitively that this communication was never sent by Publix.” But it was noted by the reporter that the initial conversation and the email of withdrawal contained “@publix.com” which the network verified was also being used for their communications with the company.

In reporting from Black Enterprise, it was found that the same contact information is still being utilized on Publix’s website, particularly in a section where one can request a Publix Marketing Sponsorship Request under the Community tab. The situation has led some to call for a boycott of the chain, with those same people also pointing out that Publix was a sponsor of the rally at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, that became a violent insurrection attempt.