Bondurant baker receives overwhelming support after racist comment from customer

BONDURANT, Iowa — If you frequent local markets you've probably met Marry Harris, or better yet, have tasted her cinnamon rolls.

"I went to nine farmer's markets last summer, and I have tried cinnamon rolls everywhere and none of them taste like mine or feel like mine do," said Harris.

And those cinnamon sugar-filled pastries caught the nose of Laura Lacina, Owner of Home Slice handmade pies . Now, Harris shares kitchen space for her business, Taste of Comfort, and serves breakfast on Saturdays.

"Everybody in Bondurant knows the Pie Shop, so it was easy to blend in and to fit in to feel welcomed in a place that already had that environment," said Harris.

But this past weekend, Harris encountered a customer who was anything but welcoming.

She said customer "bought a bunch of pies, and he said 'But I have to tell you a joke when we're done ... It's a little ditty from southeast Iowa.' He said, 'I want you to get down, turn around, and pick a bale of cotton.' And I said I'm sorry what?"

Harris said that's when the customer repeated the joke and walked out of the door.

"In that moment, for me, it was confirmation that all those things that I was fearing and seeing connections upon connections to an outcome were valid," she said.

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Connections to another instance that Harris had experienced days prior while taking her four-year-old son to the park.

"A woman shows up with her two little girls, they start climbing on the jungle gym and the mom looks over and she looks at me, she looks at this couple, and she picks up her kids and walks out.

Another instance was when a customer recognized Harris during a market from Home Slice and referred to her as the Black pie lady.

"To him, there was nothing wrong with saying aren't you the Black pie lady," said Harris.

Harris said these experiences in such a short time makes her worried for her safety, and the future.

"If you put something out in the air enough, the people who already have it in their hearts, don't see a problem with it," she said.

According to NBC News, the FBI and Justice Department are investigating racist texts that were sent to Black Americans in dozens of states that contained messages surrounding cotton picking and slavery.

Harris said this hate-filled rhetoric isn't just something you see on TV.

"This is your cinnamon roll lady telling you that other people are saying this stuff, and they're okay with it now," she said.

After her experience, Harris knew she needed to share her story. She posted what happened on her business' Facebook page in hopes of bringing awareness to the racism she experienced.

"As Laura says we don't do pie-litics in the pie shop. We are nonpartisan, but we are pie-partisan. So, we didn't want it to be a matter of politics. It was a matter of morals," said Harris.

The response was overwhelming, Harris said. The post received over a thousand shares and hundreds of comments. Leading her to post again on her page thanking everyone for the support.

"That's what my question was. What is Bondurant about? I do believe that Bondurant and far beyond that have voiced that they will fight and eat for that. So, that was reassuring," she said.

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