>

I'm biracial, and I love fried chicken and watermelon. Waffles I like when I'm in the mood. But you just don't pair those foods together and label it a celebration of Black History Month. And if Aramark has incidents of doing this previously, I'd say they know exactly what they're doing and they need to stop.
If I was a student I would just want to get rid of Aramark for the food. My grade school used them and it always tasted like shit. >

When I first started working at my school the food was actually “decent” they made staff lunches and most teachers would get it almost every day.  The food the kids got was pretty standard school food, but it was fine.  Then Aramark came in.  No more staff lunches and while we are certainly allowed to buy food from the student line, I don’t know a single adult that would.  It’s pretty awful.  
However you know Aramark’s food sucks, but the contract the school signed is also super restrictive.  Home economics teachers have a hard time ordering ingredients since all food purchases must go through Aramark.  The school guarantees a certain number of days where lunch is served so all half days must have lunch even if the timing makes no sense.  It even restricts how we handle emergency closures.  Of course now the district doesn’t have to give any benefits to underpaid “lunch ladies” so it will never go away. >

My wife tried to be friendly with the trustees and she was effectively run out of the job for acting like they are human beings deserving of even the basics of human decency. This was in a prison though... Not sure about their school side 🤔
You cannot have a kind heart and work for Aramark, apparently. >

School side and prison side are probably the same side. >

When my campus had them the truck's next stop after us was San Quentin  prison. 
Then we changed to a cheaper food supplier :( >

They reportedly were serving maggot and rat infested meals in Detroit prisons, as well as food taken out of the trash. You guys made the correct choice. >

We’re having homemade fried catfish, instant grits, collard greens, fried breaded okra and some black eyed peas for dinner and we always have enough for company! >

No self respecting southerner eats instant grits >

So how many minutes would it take to make your grits? Well perhaps the laws of physics cease to exist on your stove! Were these magic grits? I mean, did you buy them from the same guy who sold Jack his beanstalk beans?! >

I love how any line from the movie I can hear in whoever's voice, with the exact ~~annunciation~~ enunciation and inflection.
Edit - I no spell good. >

The two yoots >

Did you say yoot?
What is a yoot? >

Oh... excuse me your honor... two y o u u u t h h z z... >

Is it possible the two defendant's... >

Please take this the right way.  I mean this with a good heart.  What would be a good menu to celebrate black heritage that wouldn't be offensive? >

The first thing I clicked on had fried chicken as an entree and watermelon salad as a side. >

Cause they're fucking delicious tbh. Like dude, they didn't just eat it because it was the only thing available, they ate it because it was decent good for cheap AND frying chicken is AMAZING. >

One of the best meals of my life was eaten in New Orleans at some lunch Buffett I found off the beaten path. I had about 7 pieces of fried chicken. >

I literally just added stuff to make fried chicken to my instacart. Alas watermelons aren't available right now but holy shit I can't wait for a meal of fried chicken next week rofl. Prolly going cantaloupe >

For Cinco de Mayo, serve me tacos with a side of rice and beans. I’m Mexican American. I DO eat that and often >

Back in the day. The mental institutions used to grow food and feed the institution. They would sell excess food to the prisons. The money received would help fund the hospital. The patients there had a job and responsibilities, giving them a sense of purpose.
Now we have neither mental health care or home grown food. Instead we have Aramark. >

This sort of thing should be a teaching moment, though. Everyone eats food, so the history of food is really just... history, but through a lens that everyone can identify with.
Watermelon was a staple crop among the freed slaves in the post-Civil War years due to being fast-growing, readily portable, and usable without infrastructure-intensive processing. That black people flocked to grow it didn't escape notice, and a whole bunch of negative stereotypes showed up almost immediately. Fried chicken, similar story. It first showed up in American in the first third of the nineteenth century, but took off after the war where it combined some Scottish frying techniques with West African seasoning styles.
It's okay to have a stereotypical food as part of a history month, because stereotypes are part of history, and we should examine them. It's critical to make it about the knowledge, though, and not "oh lol yeah black people like watermelon, we'll do that." >

Ehh... yes and no.
You're right: this is a teachable moment. Stereotypes exist, and frankly we should be teaching kids about stereotypes with an eye for identifying harmful ones and not perpetuating them, while also identifying legitimate aspects of culture, and even how a thing can be both of those things depending on the context.
But serving stereotypes for lunch isn't the right context when you're cramming stereotypes in. Chicken and waffles? Sure. But maybe with a side of biscuits, or okra, or any number of other soul-food items that are more legitimate than stereotypical. Watermelon? Same thing, but maybe with a culturally relevant main that's not a raging stereotype.
It's the context that matters here. This is the school-lunch equivalent of Gabriel Iglesias' racist gift basket, except not  done as a joke between good friends. It's not that any of the items are offensive in and of themselves, it's that when grouped together like that it's clearly an insensitive racial message, not an educational cultural one. >

I'm gonna be fucking PISSED if someone serves me birthday cake for my next birthday.  That shit is SO STEREOTYPICAL. >

That's really not a great analogy at all. 
First--serving birthday cake at a birthday party actually is a cultural thing. So, when living in that culture, it's not a negative stereotype, just a cultural trait.
Second--in some hypothetical future society where kids are being taught about US culture around the turn of the millennium, serving birthday cake at a mock birthday party would be actually teaching the kids about that culture through participation in what amounts to a cultural ritual. 
You'd have to frame it as "hurr durr, look at me, I'm a white guy, I'm eating birthday cake and and saltine crackers and a hot-dog aspic, now I'm going to put some mild hot sauce on a chicken wing and complain about it being too spicy" for it to be offensive. Much like "I'm eating what black people eat, look, fried chicken and watermelon." >

I think it would be fine if the food was a part of a history lesson and taught kids that yes, these foods were stigmatized (despite being delicious).  Ofcourse you couldn't even have that discussion in Texas or Florida.
A little girl has a crush on my son,.and missed his birthday party.  So she got her parents to throw my son a second birthday party.  They asked me what my son's favorite food was, and besides bagel and lox, his favorite was fried chicken and watermelon (he has a summer birthday btw).
For years my sister refused to eat watermelon and friend chicken, around non black people because she felt like she was playing into the stereotype.  So she was not happy that I told that family, what my son's favorite food was.  
Watermelon is a delicious healthy fruit, that's fun to eat, and I don't think we should let the next generation continue to be afraid of the stereotype.  Especially because it's just fucking ridiculous.  So they used to call watermelon's n-word apples.  So fucking what. >

We've gotta just let comedians guide us through this shit. Dave Chapelle already did that a decade ago when he talked about fried and chicken and watermelon.
In the end it was like: "Who the fuck doesn't like fried chicken and watermelon?" And that's true, most people love it.
I agree with you completely. We gotta get past this stuff soon, it's really fucking up these most recent generations who don't realize how much better things got over the past few decades regarding racism. I feel like a lot of it is being undone now because people are tired of having to defend themselves in every direction. >

I really don't think its gotten any better, in fact its gotten worse, with law makers passing laws to attack segments of the population they want to oppress. >

The trajectory has been bumpy for sure. I certainly feel racism is much less an issue today than it was in the 60's for example. That said, I also feel racism is worse today than it was 10-15 years ago. It's subjective. >

there is so much less racism in society today, but many more things are considered racist by default depending on the ethnicity of the group in question. celebratory if done by the ethnicity that’s being celebrated or another minority, performative or racist if done by white. side effects of social media and resegregation efforts  tbh >

Way less of the racism that was fought against, but new racism has popped up in its place. Much of it also comes from the side most opposed to racism, which is hilariously ironic. Then there is the divide. Despite the fact there is less racism, many people actually think it is a bigger problem than ever.
I don't know what to do about it, I just know I am sick of it and so are plenty of others. I'd love to see the pendulum arrive to its rightful place: judge people for who they are, not what they look like. >

Comments about this make me think the watermelon stereotype isn't as prevalent as it was when I was growing up. But TLDR for anyone unaware of it, it's a Reconstruction era racism that black people had no higher ambitions than a farm animal that wants to be fed its favourite snack like a good boy. >

Black farmers were making money off of chicken and watermelon. White ppl made them feel guilt for being good at things they could commercialized, black farmer could get into with not much capital. >

Same with salt. For eons the stereotype was that black ppl put to much salt on everything and ate foods high in sodium and sugar and saturated fat. Now the new cliche is black ppl proclaiming that white people dont season their food or that white peoples cooking is bland and that healthy eating should be ridiculed. Black ppl created and innovated something of their own and then here comes mainstream society to try and twist it around into a criticism of the black community. >

pretty sure the Chinese or Romans harvested salt first >

Good tasting food in the US is the result of Black America’s influence on cooking post reconstruction. >

Im not arguing that black Americans didn't improve food (they did), just the literal origin of salt aha >

Aramark is a reprehensible company. They do not care. >

At a certain point, it's not a mistake. >

Wow serving culturally relevant food during a cultural festival what a crazy controversial idea I can’t believe they did this wow.
America is devouring itself.
Edit: To people saying racist people satirize black people eating fried chicken and watermelon. I know, no shit racist people satirize every food of every ethnicity. That doesn't make it racist for people to eat that food or serve it at a cultural festival. >

The first two are fine. But there's always been a problematic relationship with associating fried chicken and African Americans. >

There is no problem with being associated with fried chicken . That just doesn't make sense. Every race or country of people has some sort of food stereotype. >

It's the historical depictions that make it at issue. Do a little  googling you'll find bug eyed big lipped images/cartoons of black people with watermelon and broken servile English. Yassuh boss, nossuh, ion know boss. Everyone eats watermelon now but it used to be a garbage food along with a lot of other "traditional " black food. Only worthy of feeding the slaves while the white people considered it beneath them. So yes that food stereotype exists but it wasn't by choice, it was forced upon people and then used as a mockery of who they were. >

Every culture has had its food of choice used against it.
There are tonnes of old magazines depicting the Irish as literal potato eating monkeys (yes, monkeys), will that stop me, an Irish person, from eating or feeling bad eating Irish potatoes, fuck no, those pricks can go fuck themselves, I'll eat a potato if I want to eat a potato.
I won't give them or their shit a second thought. >

The point being it wasn't their food of choice. It was given as slops unworthy to feed those above them and then used to mock them. The Irish had a spell of similar harassment yes I'd agree. There was a time when they weren't allowed in various establishments. That period was relatively small in comparison though. However it's not even about whether it's good or not. Undeniably potatoes, chicken, watermelon are all good foods. 
 It's the presumption that's just what you feed a black person. Like a new pet you got and are unsure of it's diet. Black people are above all, people. Imagine having an asian festival and only serving rice, or meatballs to Italians, lox and bagels to Jewish people. Sure those things are good but people aren't a stereotype. Jewish people like Chinese food, everybody likes pizza, Italians eat burgers. The question here is were they feeding people or feeding the stereotype stamped into their minds by their narrow world view? If you as an Irish person went to an event and everything was potatoes and Guinness might that not seem a bit presumptuous to you? >

Honestly, and I really mean this honestly: yes it is presumptuous, but no, it is not offensive. I say this from a position of experience, I've gone to lots of events like this in high end spots and low effort locales. Some have nailed it and some have not, but I was never offended, I just put it down to normal sloppiness or, if done well, class.
High end Italian events will have high end Italian cultural execution and low effort Italian events will have slightly lazy Italian cultural execution, this is just how it plays out in every other circumstance.
Black history month, if it takes off outside the US, or if it develops more within the US, will grow like this. >

Even a low end execution in this case would be burgers and hot dogs. Those specific items in combination are just not acceptable simply because they have been weaponized as a denigration against a particular people. 
  Shott story time, I'm a biker also I'm black. On a ride with friends who weren't of my perpetual tan, we stop at a place to cool off it's close to 100 degrees outside. We walk in and the woman behind the bar had just finished cutting a huge tray of watermelon. She absolutely lit up when we walked in and loudly announced they had watermelon with a rather strange emphasis on the word. That tone when you're trying to get a kid excited about something. Anyway, they were serving it to the people who were already there and anybody who walked in. No big deal right? Except in this case she was laser focused on me, ignoring the 4 other people who walked in with me. In her mind she absolutely knows this dark skinned guy is going to be all over this damned watermelon. She handed me the whole tray she just cut and said find a seat. 
  Lest you think I'm sensitive here my friends were doing their best not to laugh at me because of how obviously focused she was on making sure that I in particular got some watermelon. They couldn't hold it in once we got to the table and at this point it's something we laugh about. So, is the watermelon itself a bad thing, no. It's hot out it cools you down and tastes good. Is the fact that she ignored 4 white people to hand the tray to the black guy? Well that's where it gets a bit questionable. That's the fine distinction in this meal choice. Feeding a stereotypical idea of who they imagine a people are defined by. >

"This year it will work. Trust me." >

Who complained? A handful of people on Twitter? >

outrage culture is getting exhausting. >

Aramark is shit all around >

Chicken and waffles with watermelon sounds really good. >

Seriously.  Watermelon and Kool Aid?  Yeah that’s pretty bad.  But who the hell is gonna complain about chicken and waffles?  (Or bbq ribs and cornbread, for that matter?) >

Notice, they didn’t say what the kids thought about the menu >

It's so easy to not do this kind of stuff. >

I want to know if black people are mad or if this is silly white people anger. I would be sooooo happy if I was fed and kind of soul food >

Specifically AWFLs. >

All White Female Lawyers? >

Americans Who Fetishize Lunch? >

Someone messaged me, it means "Affluent White Female Liberal"  
In other words, OP there was insinuating that outrage over racism is the domain of people unaffected by racism, which is a common tactic used by racists. >

Meanwhile Florida is banning books written by black authors left and right. I think our focus in this country is so far off the mark. It’s depressing as hell. Journalists are reporting about fried chicken and totally ignoring the white nationalist movement taking over our country. Just serve the cardboard pizza and dried up potato of the day and buy a book! >

I think when we are several generations removed from any negative stereotypes attached to something, it’s easy to not see it as a negative thing.  I’m sure a lot of people just thought of Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben as representing beloved extended family members with the family’s recipes — no different than if they had had Caucasian faces. 
I’m sure none of the kids being served chicken and waffles were thinking: “Hmmm… chicken… something only uncultured Black people would eat so they could make a mess throwing the bones everywhere.”  They probably just thought: “Yum!  This is a good menu today.”
But considering that these things had negative connotations to those kids’ great grandparents and many adults still know about those connotations, it seems best not to serve them.  But what would be appropriate to serve?  Do foods exist that would have a positive connection to Black American traditions? >

Why they feel the need to make the effort is what puzzles me. Just make food for the students. That's it. Don't  have to do gimmicks and adhere to holidays or concepts. Just.. Make the fucking food.
Literally no trouble to get into. >

How can you have food for "Ethnic Group Appreciation Event" without stereotyping the foods eaten by that group?   Chinese, but no rice?  Pakistani, but no lamb?  Indian but no curry?
Get a grip here folks. >


How can you have food for "Ethnic Group Appreciation Event" without stereotyping the foods eaten by that group?

Pretty easily, actually. 
• Fried chicken, side of dirty rice, collard greens, or okra.
• Fried rice, one or two baozi, spring roll, or a tofu dish.
• Some type of vindaloo, a side of samosas and/or naan, maybe a small biriyani.
The trick is taking authentic cultural dishes and showcasing them. This is the equivalent of serving general tso's, an egg roll, and a fortune cookie with a little shallow-cone straw hat like an umbrella in your drink.
These foods in particular--watermelon and fried chicken--are essentially the default racist foods when talking about black people, at least in the US. Putting them onto a plate by themselves and not making an effort to include other dishes authentic to the culture is the racist part, not the serving of those foods in the first place. >

fried rice, spring rolls and tofu are just as stereotypical as general tsos' egg rolls and a fortune cookie... (chinese american food was made by chinese/asian immigrants fyi even the fortune cookie although origins are a bit vague for that).  And as a chinese immigrant I would be perfectly happy eating any of it. 
​
Chinese people don't have as deep seeded racism as black people in the US of course. That's probably the main issue. Most other cultures don't have that history so we're fine with most of these stereotypes as long as they aren't directly negative in and of themselves. >

i would've loved this combo tbh >

The Kool-Aid was a little much. I remember whoever catered our college having collard greens and fried chicken in February. This was back in 2007 >

I used Aramark for years, they did the laundry for my restaurant, I had NO CLUE they sold food. >

Can't wait until the find out about every single military dining facility. /s >

Being offended is internal. We are offended because we deem it offensive. We have the power to not be offended by something. If you said to me that my mother was a whore, I decide whether or not that bothers or offends me. 
I’m Asian and If my cafeteria served egg rolls and fried rice and fortune cookies on Chinese new year, I’d be stoked. >

Maybe I’m dumb, but why is watermelon and fried chicken the racist food? Those are like the two most delicious foods the world, i don’t know too many people who don’t like either of those, I would love to have that at school. (It’d be better than the stale and plastic pizza and mozzarella sticks they served at my school) >


Maybe I’m dumb, but why is watermelon and fried chicken the racist food?

Both of those have historical connotations to them. Watermelon in particular was a big trope back in the day when people were dressing in blackface and putting on minstrel shows. Fried chicken less so, but not "not" either. The fact that both of them have existing Wikipedia pages pointing out their racial associations is pretty good evidence of this.
Both of those foods have legitimate roots in culturally black food; watermelons actually were a big crop in the post-Emancipation sharecropping era, and fried chicken is a staple of soul food. 
But they're also probably the foods that are most commonly part of racial stereotypes against black people, so picking them specifically instead of one of them plus other soul-food dishes is basically like saying "I don't know shit about what black people eat, they like fried chicken and watermelon, right? What about a drink, is grape soda going too far?" >

Can we stop being upset that people are upset? >

what, no grape Koolaid? >

The outrage machine keeps chugging along. 
If ANYONE thinks that this particular battle could result in things being more fair/equitable for anybody... they need a reality check. Why is the news even reporting on this? Trump was and is a pos, but he was right in criticizing media outlets (but for the wrong reasons). They want us to lose hope and live in fear, just like politicians! They're the problem, not eating fried chicken and watermelon. >

I thought briefly that this could be due to Aramark being a foreign company, meaning well but not being fully up to speed with American cultural context but no... Aramark is headquartered in Philadelphia... There's no excuse. >


A vendor that provides food service to schools apologized for the "unintentional insensitivity" of its Black History Month menu, echoing similar apologies it has made for more than a decade amid backlash over racially insensitive menus.

How can it be unintentional if they've been using insensitive stereotypes in their menus for more than a decade? How many times do they have to apologize before they get it? Either fix it or just admit they're stupid or racist. One of those two would be better for business because whether it's racist or not is not the point. It's how it is perceived by their customers. What a dumb company. >

Might be racist, but I bet everyone loved eating that vs eating cardboard pizza and tots