Online Petitions Accuse Fojol Brothers Truck of Racism

Oh boy, seems there has been a blow-up of sorts in which folks have taken to Facebook and Change.org to accuse one of DC's oldest food trucks, the Fojol Brothers, of racism. Or, more specifically, hipster racism. The Huffington Post reported on an open letter posted to Facebook yesterday in which one Drew Franklin wrote, "Like, it's so over-the-top racist, it's not racist at all! The commodity you're trading in isn't actually Indian food, as it would appear to the unhip, but irony, am I right?"

Fojol Brothers owner Justin Vitarello told HuffPo that he wasn't worried about the letter — and that the accusations of racism over the turban-wearing, mustachioed purveyors of Indian cuisine have cropped up from "no more than five" people since the truck opened in 2009: "It happens very infrequently. And so it doesn't seem very legitimate. It's generally people who are offended on behalf of another group."

So is that it? Well, maybe not. Seemingly in response to the HuffPo piece, it appears that another fellow by the name of Arturo J. Viscarra has started up a petition over at Change.org requesting for the Fojol Brothers to "stop the brownface minstrel act!" The petition has more than 150 signees and counting.

· Fojol Brothers Food Truck Denies Racism Charge [HuffPo]
· An Open Letter to the "Fojol" Bro-dawgs [Facebook]
· Fojol Bros.: Respect Asian and African cultures--stop the brownface minstrel act! [Change.org]