Renewable Revolution

By wagatwe   

Tuesday Apr 25, 2017 ·  1:36 PM EDT

SNIPPET:

It’s common knowledge that depicting Black people with watermelon—or even just insinuating that we love to eat it—is racially insensitive at best. If you’re unfamiliar with the reasons why watermelon became such an awful symbol of hatred and oppression, I recommend this piece from the Atlantic (emphasis mine):

But the stereotype that African Americans are excessively fond of watermelon emerged for a specific historical reason and served a specific political purpose. The trope came into full force when slaves won their emancipation during the Civil War. Free black people grew, ate, and sold watermelons, and in doing so made the fruit a symbol of their freedom. Southern whites, threatened by blacks’ newfound freedom, responded by making the fruit a symbol of black people’s perceived uncleanliness, laziness, childishness, and unwanted public presence. This racist trope then exploded in American popular culture, becoming so pervasive that its historical origin became obscure. Few Americans in 1900 would’ve guessed the stereotype was less than half a century old.

But like any good, ol’ racist, Dixie Services owner Valentine wouldn’t let something like history or facts to ruin his racist fun. ABC affiliate KXLY reports reveals that he’s just as clueless as you’d expect (or perhaps he’s just pretending to be):



http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/4/25/1655943/-Idaho-company-defends-using-blatantly-racist-imagery-on-its-trucks