Entrepreneur says Cooper hospital withdrew invite to Black History Month expo because her products are not ‘ethnic’

Philadelphia entrepreneur Felicia Harris Williams jumped at an invitation from Cooper University Health Care in Camden to be a vendor at a Black History Month marketplace as a way to introduce her specialty teas to a new audience, especially other Black women.

But then last week, Cooper uninvited her, saying in an email the brand “does not fit in with our cultural theme since it’s not specifically an ethnic product.” Williams demanded an explanation and an apology.

“How is a Black-owned company not ethnic for Black History Month?” Williams, 36, asked Monday. “It just didn’t make sense to me. It’s just unacceptable behavior.”

Lloyd D. Henderson, president of the Camden County East Chapter of the NAACP, said: “Who makes that determination of who’s Black enough? Obviously, somebody screwed up.”

Williams, owner of Gynger Tea, an online company that ships premium blend teas, candles, and body-care products nationwide, took to social media to share the turn of events.

In a statement, Cooper said it apologized Monday to Williams “for an unfortunate miscommunication that caused her understandable frustration.” It said the event guidelines prohibiting food and beverage vendors were not properly communicated.

It is the first time Cooper hosted the vendor fair during Black History Month. The event’s sponsor, Ardella Coleman, the hospital’s vice president of diversity and talent acquisition, also offered Monday to let Williams bring non-edible products to the vendor fair. Williams said she planned to decline.

Williams said she was initially contacted by Cooper’s diversity specialist in human resources, Francess Bowen-Metzger, in December, extending an offer to participate as a vendor. In the email message, provided to The Inquirer, Bowen-Metzger said she obtained Williams’ information from her Instagram page.

In an email a few days later, Metzger-Bowen confirmed that Williams had been approved to participate as a vendor on Feb. 22. Local Black-owned businesses would get a chance to display and sell their products, she wrote.

“I thought it was a great opportunity to put my business in front of a new audience,” Williams said. “This is a perfect fit to be in a hospital.”

While in Texas on a recent business trip, Williams was stunned to learn that the event had been removed from her schedule. Williams’ assistant notified her that she was no longer invited to participate.

In the Jan. 24 email canceling her invite, Bowen-Metzger said she would keep Williams in mind for future vending opportunities with a “general theme.”

Williams told Bowen-Metzger she was “perplexed” by the decision to remove her as a vendor. She asked her to explain “what is the ethnic theme?” and “what is not ‘ethnic’ about custom organic tea blends made by a Black woman (me)?”

Cooper, among the largest health-care providers in the region, responded with Monday’s statement that it could not allow vendors with items that could be ingested. Bowen-Metzger did not respond to telephone messages and emails from The Inquirer on Monday.

Williams said she started her tea business after she was diagnosed in 2015 with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a type of abnormal heartbeat. She believes her condition went undetected until she was 28 because of disparities in health care.

Williams said her primary doctor recommended tea infused with raw ginger to help ease her condition. She believes the tea had healing properties, and she has since become an avid tea drinker.

Williams, a mother of three, incorporated the business in 2018 and launched the online store in 2020. Her primary target was Black women, especially those seeking to improve their health. Many of the ingredients used in her teas come from tea farms in Africa, she said.

“I’m very intentional about the products I make,” Williams said. “I am very unapologetic about the fact that I make my product with Black women in mind.”

Williams wants Cooper to change how it treats “Black and brown businesses” and make sure procurement contracts are awarded to diverse vendors.

“I don’t want this to happen to other minorities,” she said.