San Francisco Atheists - Star Jones / Payless ShoeSource Protest

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TV talk show personality Star Jones has publicly made prejudiced and demeaning statements about Atheists, including saying she would never vote for an Atheist. On April 24, 2002, the Atheists of Silicon Valley, East Bay Atheists, and the San Francisco Atheists converged on three Bay Area Payless ShoeSource stores (in San Jose, San Francisco, and El Cerrito) to urge Payless ShoeSource to take a stand against prejudice and drop Star Jones, their current consumer ambassador. Pairs of used shoes were brought along for a mass mailing after the event as a part of the Anti-Discrimination Support Network's "Walk a Mile" campaign: letters of personal experiences about living as an unbeliever in America will be sent with the shoes to Star Jones, along with copies to Payless ShoeSource, to encourage them to walk a mile in the shoes of an unbeliever before passing judgment. Jones has acknowledged the protests, but she has yet to offer any apology.

Here's several thumbnail photos of the event. Click the right and left arrows along the top row to see more thumbnails. To see the full-size photo, click the thumbnail.