Here's Why Your Fried Chicken and Watermelon Lunch Is Racist

[MrScorpio]

212. Context is everything.

An African-American restaurant, which would definitely have fried chicken on its menu year 'round... The watermelon, I doubt it, the answer to your question would be, no. That restaurant would serve a much more diverse cuisine and, depending on where it's located, a more diverse clientele. It could be chicken and waffles in L.A., or ribs in Memphis, or red beans and rice in Spanish Harlem.

Soul food would be served by people without any constituent stigma attached to it.

However, if outside of that context, you put a menu together without any regard to the fact that there's more to soul food than the most stereotypical parts of it known, then we have a problem of shortsightedness.

For example, percentage wise, Whites eat more watermelon in this country than do blacks. Especially out of season, for obvious reasons.

But as long as racist whites persist in depicting things like watermelon as a stereotypical food that's enjoyed by lazy blacks, then it's clear that something like that on a menu for Black History month would also continue to be problemactic.

What's the lesson here? Blacks like watermelon?

Fight the racism, not the food.