Warning: racist images follow:
The watermelon stereotype is the White American belief that black people have a particular weakness for watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), that it is one of the foods they like best.
The stereotype goes back at least 200 years to slave times. We have pictures of it that go back at least to the 1890s and continue all the way down to the present day (see above). You see it in the poetry of Carl Sandburg from 1918:
Why do I always think of niggers and buck-and-wing dancing whenever I see watermelon?
It also features in racist jokes. Still.
Some seem to accept it as fact. You see that in some of the pictures above, like the Shell ad and the last one, a serious stock photo.
Some say that stereotypes are based on the truth, however stretched and imperfect. So there must be some truth to it, right?
Here is the truth it is based on. Here is the amount of watermelon the average American ate in 1996:
- 5.9 kg: white
- 6.0 kg: black
- 8.1 kg: Hispanic
- 19.5 kg: other
Only 0.1 kilograms separates blacks from whites – that comes to less than one slice.
Yet if you look at the pictures above you would think whites barely touch the stuff, that blacks eat it way more than anyone else and everyone knows it.
Blacks do in fact eat more watermelon than whites: but only by 1 or 2% – not a difference anyone would notice. Not a difference that could begin to account for the pictures above as honest, innocent observation, as something anywhere close to objective reality.
It is not even a case of watermelon being a food that is most common in the American South or a cheap food most common among the poor: in America it is most commonly eaten in the west, in the suburbs and by the middle-class. Hispanics eat more of it than either blacks or whites and Asian Americans seem to eat it most of all. If that seems odd, consider that China grows more watermelon than anyone and has been growing it longer than Europe.
It is not even the case that watermelons came to America from West Africa along with slaves and okra: Europeans have known about watermelons since the 1200s, when the Moors of Spain brought them, along with oranges and algebra (neither of which are seen as a black thing).
The watermelon stereotype tells you nothing that is true about either black people or watermelons. All it tells you about is the way many white people think:
- They can believe in a stereotype that is not one bit true.
- They do not question what they are told about black people, not even the stuff that is easily googled.
- They think most black people are alike.
- They can take a seemingly innocent, harmless difference, such as liking watermelon – what in the world is wrong with liking watermelon? – and use it to put down black people and laugh at them, to make them seem like mindless creatures.
See also:
- Sources:
- The Cambridge History of Food: Cucumbers, Melon and Watermelon – the history, complete with scholarly sources
- The Jim Crow Museum: Question of the Month: Blacks and Watermelons
- USDA: Factors Affecting Watermelon Consumption in the United States (PDF)
- authentichistory.com: Chicken & Watermelon Themes – yet more pictures
- stereotypes
I never got the whole walermelon and chicken thing. It sounds so gross together. It’s okay, but I hate the seeds. Mangos pawn watermelon anyday. Japan loves walermelon, too. Also, what’s up with the first pic of blacks. What group of people actucally looks like that? Maybe, white were too high off of coke or something.
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My aunts/mom would always buy, on average, three to five huge watermelons for each of their families. And the people working the till had these looks on their faces that Asians must really love watermelon. Strange, huh?
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I always believed the stereotype came from the south, where Watermelon and Chicken very popular with blacks and whites. I believe it “stuck” because most people only use their hands to eat Watermelon and Chicken and racists made it seem black people were uncivilized since their “favorite” foods didn’t require them to use utensils.
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This is one of those stereotypes that are mind-blogging.
Whites love it because they think it offends blacks to say they love watermelons. In fact, blacks hate this stereotype because it’s annoying. It makes no sense.
I seriously believe that many racist whites enjoy indulging in these racist stereotypes for no other reason than they can. They think it’s funny just because.
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LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL omg there are actually words after the pictures! Hehe I’m dying of laughter right now. Lmao I swear, racism can be fun sometimes if you do it right. 🙂
Now time for me to actually read the post
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**Black Man’s Fantasy Girl**
A blonde instead of an attractive black woman. Why does she have to be white? A stereotype that black men secretly lust after white women or that white women are prettier than black women?
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I personally love the watermelon & chicken stereotypes. They are the dumbest things to me. The fact that this stereotype doesn’t have a shred of truth to it deeply confuses me. I also don’t understand why racist believe food is supposed to offend me. Like white folks don’t eat watermelon & chicken…
I swear racist food jokes are so basic. Lol How can you hate ppl for being hungry???
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If black people love chicken so much, why is a picture of a white man on the KFC bucket?
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@Serpentus
“A stereotype that black men secretly lust after white women”
This stereotype is as old as time. In order to keep poor whites and blacks(default poor) from uniting for common economic interest, Southern Democratic white politicians would preach white supremacy and tell poor whites that every black man wanted to defile their pure white southern belles. They would also fill the Republican party with black politicians bc they knew whites weren’t going to vote for them. This was all in order to maintain political/economic power within Southern states(elites were in on it to).
I believe the stereotype goes back further than this, but it more than likely cemented itself into American society post Civil War.
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Black Man’s Fantasy Girl is thin, not thick like most black men like. Mostly white men would be attracted to her. Also, she seems sort of plain.
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“If black people love chicken so much, why is a picture of a white man on the KFC bucket?”
Co-signed.
http://www.southernfriedchickenrecipe.com/Fried-Chicken-Articles/history-of-fried-chicken.php
Fried chicken isn’t “black” food. the first people to fry food were the Chinese.
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The fact that whites (the stupid ones) think that this stereotype is offensive to black folks is a testament to just how small minded they are. It’s like the insult version of Chinese Water Torture. “It doesn’t hurt, but the same thing over time eventually gets irritating.”
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I’m not American, and neither black nor white, and I think this stereotype is disgusting. Those pictures make me feel sick that a group of people can be dehumanised to that extent.
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To be honest, the last one seems like it’s been Photoshopped. But the quality is bad, so I might be mistaken.
The watermelon thing is one of those “WTF!?! Random!” things about the US. I mean, it’s completely random and makes no sense, at least not where I live.
We like watermelon. Well, not all the people, but it’s what many of us associate with summer. Once a week or so, your parents would ask: “would you like some watermelon!”, and you’d agree, excited. Then your father would go and first take a good look at watermelons, after which he’d do a mandatory test to determine whether it’s ripe. Then he’d take it home, and you’d be so happy… It just one of those simple, small things that makes life beautiful.
So I had no idea, up to a year ago, that there’s a racist stereotype about black people liking watermelons, as the opposite of whites.
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Being from the Southern U.S., this stereotype is mostly annoying. It goes with other stuff like the musty n-word, laziness, and history=slavery. Nevermind the other side of things going on…o_O
Like with Civil War issues, this is just another slice of the scapegoat archetype lobbed at African-Americans…sort of indirectly applies to the “do as we say, not as we do” motto in regards to whites and their actions.
It reminds me of a song I heard as a teenager. It’s titled “Watermelon Crawl” by Tracy Byrd. I mainly only noticed it due to the sexual nature (women dancing around in watermelon) and as a male, nature usually wins…;}
Maybe it was a coming of age sort of deal, but that pretty much sealed it in regards to being offended (not one black person in the video?!). It’s the type of stuff that should(n’t) be relegated to grade school banter, except it’s grown-ups doing it…the rest is pretty simple.
Grab a peak if you like…
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I have never understood where this stereotype comes from. What are the origins? Seems like there are any number of souther foods that might have stuck instead. weird… anyone know the specific history?
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wow, those pics. What those pictures say to me actually has very little to do with watermelon. the message seems to be quite simply that blacks are inferior/ugly and watermelon is just used as a vehicle to drive that point home.
As for fried chicken, that one always confused me. Fried chicken is like the best food ever invented. If it wasn’t so bad for you I would eat it all the time. So I never understood why saying someone likes chicken would be an insult but these pics kind of show you why.
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Fried chicken is like the best food ever invented.
I agree. I don’t generally eat meat, but I can’t resist fried chicken.
I think these stereotypes are confusing because they seem very random, and it looks like they seem random even to Americans. I mean, they are stereotypes and therefore harmful, but I can’t think of a reason why they formed. I mean, watermelons and fried chicken? Don’t most people like these? And even if they don’t, why would it be watermelons and fried chicken and not something else?
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Color me nauseous…
I’ve seen quite a few of these images before, because I used to have a big collection of WWII-era LIFE magazines, and those ads were commonplace.
I also have a VHS tape of Weird Cartoons, which has a Little Black Sambo clip in it, as well as some ‘musical number’ called ‘Scrub Me Mama With a Boogie Beat” – the picture above, just underneath the watermelon car, is from that piece of nonsense.
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After I posted I went and ate a bunch of fried chicken for lunch. While so doing I took note of my privilege to slam on fried chicken without fear of reaffirming any stereotypes about my race. 🙂
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Another funny thing – I thought that watermelon was extremely popular in Japan; so much so, that some enterprising individual developed ‘square’ melons – easier to stack for display at open market! 😎
http://articles.cnn.com/2001-06-15/world/square.watermelon_1_seedless-melons-watermelon-lovers-round-watermelon?_s=PM:asiapcf
(old article, obviously)
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This is really weird. I think I didn’t realise how much of a nasty stereotype this is despite several years living in the USA. I do remember people giggling when they saw me eating watermelon at work but I would think it’s because “those foreigners eat strange things at work”. I could never make a connection to a very weird form of bigotry.
As an outsider, if you only saw the first and the last picture you would think, so what, it looks innocent. Then everything in between is really creepy.
As Mira said, it was the same for us when we were kids. Pastèque was a feast, a nice alternative to ice lolly in summer.
When the first KFC opened in Paris aux Halles I went there with my brothers and we thought, this is nice. But gran’s poulet DG is better, made from live chicken slaughtered at home… 😉 I still like to go for a Church’s when I’m in the US. Fried okra and gizzards. Nice.
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I think this is a lot closer to an average black man’s fantasy girl: http://looseneck.com/main/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/mford2.jpg
That is if I can judge by the centerfolds in black men’s magazines.
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I’ve always hated watermelon. It tastes nasty to me. I’ve given an honest try on many occasions and I cannot eat the stuff. I just don’t like the taste.
I like fried chicken, but who doesn’t? I can’t eat it like I used to because all the grease and breading upsets my stomach. Eating KFC will leave me nauseated for hours even though I like the taste.
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@Olefemi
U think ppl were giggling at you 4 eating watermelon? Do u black/off-black? I remember you saying you were three-fourths European. I imagined you looking something like this
Those are pics of a Brazilian singer, Caetano Veloso, in case ur wondering.
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Was that last photo (the stock photo) altered by someone (not Abagond)? The hands and watermelon seem slightly out of focus
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Oh yea and I must confess. I love watermelon. It’s funny bc my friends and two of my siblings absolutely hate the taste of it. Lol they always exploit their aversion to it by jokingly referring to me as “coon” for reflecting on its juicy sweetness at cookouts. I just laugh about it. Again, this stereotype is so dumb to me, I can’t take it seriously.
Chicken? Eh… it’s okay. I don’t die for it. To me it’s just food *shrugs*
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@ The Cynic
I honestly don’t know why they were giggling. It might as well be as I thought, I was foreign to them.
Interesting, I’ve never heard of Caetano Veloso. He looks more like my cousin. I was told that, in my thirties, I used to look like Adel Benchérif now.
http://bit.ly/gOdgWb
Unfortunately time was not so kind on me and took most of my hair in the meantime… 😉
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@Serpentus
“A stereotype that black men secretly lust after white women”
I call it projecting. It’s actually white men that are secretly lusting after black women in my experience.
A picture of a red-boned video vixen with long hair, light eyes and an azz you can saddle up and ride on would be closer to the truth. LOL.
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I feel like these particular stereotypes probably came out of the minstrel era. Two common southern foods in a play and clownish representations of blacks in a popular entertainment medium for whites probably just got merged and blown out of all proportion. Just like the stereotype that all blacks come from the ghetto that has been perpetrated by gangsta movies and rap.
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I’m a black man and I HATE watermelon. I can’t stand the smell of them when someone slices one up.
In my town oh Hampton we celebrate watermelons by having a festival every Summer. Two years ago during the parade, on one truck there was a monkey with a noose around it. Some black folks got offended and started the Stop Racism in Hampton County group on Facebook.
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I hate mushy, ugly, fat watermelons. If a fruit is going to be that big and ugly it should at least taste good! But watermelons fail in every way.
My mother buys them occasionally in the summer but our famliy never eats them, I wish she would just stop buying the damn things and buy pineapples instead.
Anyway, this ever-present stereotype does nothing but make (usually white) people look stupid. “Look at those nasty blacks eating MELONS!” Wow, ouch, burn, how intelligent of you. And so what if we did all eat watermelons? What of it? I don’t even see how the act of eating a watermelon became something to be ashamed of. I guess in Amerika anything that can be associated with black people—even if the association is arbitrary— is worthy of shame and embarassment until it can be redeemed by the masses (i.e. white people because everybody else is not worth counting)
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or maybe I’ll just buy pineapples.
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“I call it projecting. It’s actually white men that are secretly lusting after black women in my experience”
Co-signed
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“I like fried chicken, but who doesn’t? I can’t eat it like I used to because all the grease and breading upsets my stomach. Eating KFC will leave me nauseated for hours even though I like the taste”
Baked or roasted chicken is way taster and healthier.My mum’s a health nut, so we eat it fried every once in a while. I don’t ever like chicken that much. It’s good maybe 2 times out the week, but I couldn’t stand to eat everyday. Popeye’s pawns KFC anyday of the week. But the best fried chicken ever is Harold’s. And people serve Chruch’s in hell.
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A lot of people think that these stereotypes are funny. They understand that they are harmful, yet they keep making them up and laughing.
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Abagond: didn’t you mean to post that in “Stereotypes about Americans” post?
When it comes to this thread, I am interested in the last photo. You said it was real. But it does seem fake to me. Where did you find it and what makes you think it’s real?
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Mira:
Oops, wrong thread. I moved the comment. Thanks.
The last picture comes from a website of stock photos:
http://www.123rf.com/photo_6011908_little-girl-eating-watermelon-with-her-mother.html
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This is probably completely wrong but the picture with the white couple watching black people clamor for watermelon at their feet confirmed my guess as to where the stereotype originated.
I tend to think that watermelon was given to slaves instead of actually keeping them properly hydrated during their labor. Or maybe it has something to do with slaves finding some relief in quenching thirst via eating watermelon. It was clearly a crop, and I wonder if it wasn’t uncommon to be allowed a break and the overseer would give them the damaged cracked-open watermelons instead of actual water. Or maybe slaves would be desperate enough to break one “accidentally” so they might be allowed to have some.
I can just see white people thinking how crazy black people are for watermelon when it was probably because they were so thirsty and dehydrated that it could possibly cause what looked like a frenzy.
The fried chicken stereotype: I agree with Redman1000. Try cutting fried chicken with a fork. Illogical. Nonsense. But white people were still big on European standards of etiquette then.
Further, what scraps were slaves given after the master and his family ate choice pieces? Organs, backs, necks. How do you make something taste better? Fry it.
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Victoria said:
Of all the reasons I have heard this makes the most sense. First, because the stereotype goes back to when blacks were slaves. Second, because black regard for watermelons is shown as one of ecstasy and reverence. When whites are shown with watermelons, it is pictured simply as one of the joys of summer, not as some kind of peak experience:
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This has always confused me. Who wouldn’t like watermelon?
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Abagond, exactly. If white people find it refreshing on a hot summer day…why wouldn’t black people also find it refreshing? I think it has always been what kept people from feeling the discomforts of dehydration.
Plus, to carry the watermelon stereotype forward in time, after slaves were freed, watermelon was a crop that they were masters of maintaining by then, so they probably planted plenty around their homes. And it provided the same relief, particularly for their children who would be thirsty and hungry and for moms who want to keep kids out of the house and from complaining of their hunger and thirst between meals. It just makes sense. I’m sure that poor, southern whites did the same thing. But the black-people-all-a-frenzy over watermelon image, to me, comes from a need for fluids, not a black lust for watermelon.
I mean, really – why are only African Americans associated with watermelon? Why not Afro Caribbean people? Because on the islands coconuts and their water and pulp provided the abundant liquid relief before the days of indoor plumbing and running water. But no one makes fun of them for enjoying coconut water. It just makes sense that human beings who need lots of water enjoy these watery fruits.
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OMG Victoria That is what I always said when someone brings up the watermelon sterotype. I said it on this blog too.
I mean slaves would work hard all day and any scrap of food that they got they were glad so you know they didn’t die of dehydration. White people saw this and thought how funny. It was really another way to dehumanize Black people and make light of slavery.
See in some of the photos how they are slaves lying down, sleeping and eating. The one that says “You can plainly see how miserable I am.” and the one that says ” Don’t wake the babies” Pro-slavery propaganda.
I used to like watermelon until I got really really sick when I was 14 or something and never ate them again.
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It’s really unfortunate because watermelon is delicious and it’s a healthy way to hydrate after a long hard workout on a hot day. I call it “God’s sport drink,” because in addition to water it supplies a gentle dose of minerals and fructose. I’m certain that I personally consume many times the average figures cited in this post.
I do think the stereotype arose many years ago in the agricultural south, where watermelon was inexpensive and plentiful. It is refreshing to anybody who has been working hard in the hot sun, which was often the case for African Americans in the south.
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Victoria says,
Abagond, exactly. If white people find it refreshing on a hot summer day…why wouldn’t black people also find it refreshing? I think it has always been what kept people from feeling the discomforts of dehydration.
Plus, to carry the watermelon stereotype forward in time, after slaves were freed, watermelon was a crop that they were masters of maintaining by then, so they probably planted plenty around their homes. And it provided the same relief, particularly for their children who would be thirsty and hungry and for moms who want to keep kids out of the house and from complaining of their hunger and thirst between meals. It just makes sense. I’m sure that poor, southern whites did the same thing. But the black-people-all-a-frenzy over watermelon image, to me, comes from a need for fluids, not a black lust for watermelon.
I mean, really – why are only African Americans associated with watermelon? Why not Afro Caribbean people? Because on the islands coconuts and their water and pulp provided the abundant liquid relief before the days of indoor plumbing and running water. But no one makes fun of them for enjoying coconut water. It just makes sense that human beings who need lots of water enjoy these watery fruits.
laromana says,
EXCELLENT comment Victoria. Unfortunately, ANTI-BLACK RACISM (all RACISM) is IRRATIONAL so there’s no LOGIC to explain continuing RACIST/ANTI-BLACK watermelon stereotypes.
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I’m another Black person who cannot STAND watermelon! Just the the thought of that nasty, squishy fruit with those horrible seeds makes me want to gag! I will tear some chicken up in a New York minute! LOL! KFC. El Pollo Loco. Juan Pollo. Chicken chop suey. Chicken cacciatore. Baked chicken. Roasted chicken. Barbecue chicken. Stater Bros. chicken. Chicken has been mighty good to me. :^)
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Hey Abagond, you forgot about the 40 ounce stereotype. Or maybe that was just around when I was in high school. You know, so we can pour it out on the graves of our dead gang banging homies!
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@Mochasister
LOL. I know that is right!!! I hate watermelon!!! The thing I hate the most about watermelon is all the seeds!!!! It takes 1 hour to eat one slice because you are always spitting the seeds out of your mouth. Or picking the seeds from the slice with your hands. Who wants to go through so much just to eat a piece of fruit!! But like you, I love chicken. I used to hate it when I was younger because it seemed like all my family hate was chicken!!! We ate fried chicken, broiled chicken, bbq chicken etc. I began to hate chicken because it seemed that was all we ate!!! But I love chicken now. It is amazing how your taste changes when you get older. And the comment about the 40 ounce was hilarious!!!! LOL.
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@Abagond
And I agree with you. If we black folk did love watermelon, what is so strange about that??? The way that stereotyped was developed and used to make black people seem childlike and dumb seems strange to me. Suddenly, we are inferior to white people because we like watermelon!!! What is so inferior about liking a piece of fruit???
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@as0nburns
“wow, those pics. What those pictures say to me actually has very little to do with watermelon. the message seems to be quite simply that blacks are inferior/ugly and watermelon is just used as a vehicle to drive that point home.”
I strongly disagree on the first pic. That girl is tottaly hot, a 9 or 10. I could easy paid a month sallary to grease her all in with wathermelon juice and chicken fat, and lick her all clean again.
@Abagond
Is it automaticly wrong to take pictures of blacks with watermelons, becouse of this steriotype? The last pic is nice if you dont know about it. Steriotypes like this is made to make black look stupid, and the main gold is to make blacks feel stupid and less worth, or at least make “them” pist of.
The last one seams to work, and may the other as well. If you get regular white people to acept this jokes, and black people to feel provoked and bad, you have more or less succeed as racist.
Nothing bad about wathermelons, in fact is helthy and good. Make a wathermelon festival, make all black americans love wathermelons and be proud about it, and you have more or less disarmed the racist argument.
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so there’s no LOGIC to explain continuing RACIST/ANTI-BLACK watermelon stereotypes.
Agreed. I hope that you are not implying that I am “explaining continuing” a stereotype. I’ve been giving my *opinion* about the origin of the stereotype, not professing that it should be ok to keep it. I hope that I’m being clear. I absolutely do not agree with continuing a stereotype in any fashion.
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Blacks were provided and could only afford inferior food like pigs feet and pig intestions. White people saw Black people eating watermelon to washout the toxins from the inferior food and thats why the started trying to make Black people feel embarrased about eating watermelons. White people are a mess everyday.
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@jasmine: “Blacks were provided and could only afford inferior food like pigs feet and pig intestions. White people saw Black people eating watermelon to washout the toxins from the inferior food and thats why the started trying to make Black people feel embarrased about eating watermelons.”
I think you are into something here. I mean, what is inferior in pigs feet and intestines? Check out the french kitchen, they use everything in a pig but I see nobody saying that they are somehow less human. They eat pigs cheeks too. Pigs skin is delicasy in many countries.
What I have noticed many times is that americans have for some reason unhealthy suspicion on some foods, like liver. Liver is not only good food but can be also delicious. Take fresh liver, fry in a pan with hot butter just like stake, put some pepper and salt on it and WHOAH! Yummu… 😀
Heart is also full meat and can be done very well also. Cows tongue is excellent meat, just boilt it as a whole and slice it, put some salt ja pepper on top and some sauce and voilá! You can also use it instead of sausage or cold cuts, except in tongue there is none of the mystery ingredients that exists in sausages! 😀
Kidneys are also excellent, kidneys and rice is one my favorites! Fried kidneys, kidney stew, mmmmm… 😀
Haven’t eaten brains, though.
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I’m not American so maybe that’s why I’ve never heard of this stereotype. It’s really bizarre.
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Oh and I’m white and I think watermelon is wonderful.
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@jasmine, think you into something, but I disagree that pigsfeet are bad food or toxid. but you have a very good point that can be an reasonable explanation. Chickens are maybe the world most importaint source to proteines for people, becouse they cheap and easy to keep. That along with the fact that you eat chicken with your hands, fits also well in your theory.
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I hate these sorts of stereotypes. I’m black and hate watermelon, actually. It’s too watery, I always avoid it in fruit salad. And w/ the “blacks like chicken” thing, MOST PEOPLE LIKE CHICKEN! Most people love watermelon, too. So stupid. Some people believe this shit is true, too. That’s the sad part.
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The picture of the research science girl really disgusts me. This young lady is not a model or actress. Some racist went on a university website and looked for pictures of students (high school or undergraduates) perhaps doing a summer science internship and posted this in their racist poster. Just goes to show you that racists/white supremacists will degrade the best, smartest and most productive black people they can find as well. That really made me sick to my stomach to see that.
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These images are loathsome. Count me in as one black person who hardly ever eats watermelon. I only eat watermelon at those odd and rare times when I really do have a taste for it, otherwise I really do not like the texture of the fruit, the amount of seeds, and the aftertaste that it leaves.
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I do eat watermelon once in a while. And you know what? I’m not ashamed of that.
There is nothing wrong with enjoying fried chicken or watermelon, no matter what some racist dickwad says.
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It never ceases to amaze me just how deplorable most white people can be and have been! I love reading your blog. It helps me combat residual ignorance I have with regard to black people. Thank you for your and your readers insight.
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i still don’t get it, i also don’t get how its a bad thing to like watermelon, its like solid flavored water, not ice, but it is like, 70% water? or am i getting mixed up between us and a watermelon?
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Some more for your collection:
http://filipspagnoli.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/measuring-human-rights-24-measuring-racism-ctd/
http://filipspagnoli.wordpress.com/2010/11/13/racist-stereotypes-a-collection-of-images/
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Wow a valid argument,but you yourself stereotype whites in the end depicting us as horrible people,by using things such as THEY will believe anything you tell them even if it is not true,I am not racist,saying that I am based off of me being white makes you racist, and you particularly are acting as if I owe you for other peoples actions,also this country is dominated by whites,hating us won’t help, also these are jokes which are to be taken lightly,this coming from a thirteen-year-old i think you should make sure you are not guilty of the crime you are accusing others of,to remove the thorn from your brothers eye,you must remove the plank from your own.
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How did you come to that conclusion?
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“hating us won’t help”
But hating us will? Why not complain to the white supremacists?
You don’t owe black people a thing, but don’t expect them to give you a cookie if you can’t treat them with basic respect.
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Pink flesh carrying Black seeds rimmed by a White lining inside of a hard Green skin.
Somehow this description is reminiscent of something or someone, I just can’t quite put a finger on it.
A slice of watermelon?…I’ve lost my appetite.
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@ citizen
I said MANY whites not ALL whites or even MOST whites. I was very careful about that. If MANY whites did not believe it then there would be no stereotype and the jokes would not be funny – they would just seem kind of strange. Like watermelon jokes about white people.
If what I say does not fit you, then I am not talking about you. I know that not all white people are alike.
Also: racist jokes push racist stereotypes and strengthens racism, which makes them wrong.
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Millions of people the world over enjoy eating all kinds of normal foods, delicacies and strange foods. This is their business,
Why make a BIG DEAL about what people like or do not like to eat?
Some black people like watermelon, some don’t. Just like some Chinese people like rice and some don’t, some white people like potato and some don’t.
Just another ridiculous stereotype.
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@abagond apologies i misread, also,i do agree that racist jokes can be harmful,but among my friends (some black) they are taken lightly,my opinion on this stereotype is it is only a joke based off of it’s absurdity and inability to be valid in an argument,I rest my case.
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So, the watermelon stereotype looks like a metaphor for Oreos or Mulatto (mixed race) people and/or their way of life/ ideas. I’ve read that the flesh of the watermelon can range from red to yellow. This corrresponds with the skin tone classifications of American Blacks. Hence, the phrases, ‘Red Bone’ and ‘High Yellow’.
The black seeds of the watermelon could represent pro-black ideas and/or actual black products of reproduction (ie:Black Children).
The White rind of the watermelon which encasses or rims the flesh is symbolic of the indigestable rule of White supremecy among the negros (Blacks).
The hard green skin of the watermelon is a symbol of cash, money, and/or the depravity of wealth and/or land/ power – which the Blacks desire.
It seems as though, American mythology hinges upon the domination and mastery of it’s former slaves. It’s apparent that American history is only truly taught by the majority through the stigmata of others, namely Black slaves.
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[…] The watermelon stereotype « Abagond […]
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The first picture makes me want to eat watermeloin, chicken and drink grape soda together with that girl!
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mmmmm…I love watermelon! I like to cut it up and freeze it…then put it in the blender for watermelon slushies!
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I’m black, and I hate the stereotype. With that said, I completely broke out in laughter when I saw the picture with the truck hitting the cart.
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[…] […]
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The way MANY white people think?? Talk about stereotypes and generalizations. Each person is unique and an individual no matter what color they are. It’s sad to see that there is racism in every ethnicity and culture. The reality is that the whites don’t have a monopoly in that area. Ignorance comes in every race.
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The watermelon stereotype dates back to the days of American slavery when it was thought that slaves would steal Massa’s food. Growing watermelons and raising chickens are something we take for granted in this day and age, but anyone who’s ever read a “Little House on the Prairie” book should know that it took a lot of time and effort to raise enough food to live on in the present and also put enough by to get through the winter. To raise a flock of chickens where you could actually have some extra to fry was no small feat.
The racist image of blacks eating watermelon presents blacks as eating a treat that they really have no right to but they are being indulged by their whitr masters. Especially that picture of the whites looking on calmly while the darkies gloat over the watermelon.
That image is complete and utter bullshit of course. Slaves were severely punished for eating any food that Massa & Missy specifically didn’t say they could have and Massa and Missy carefully rationed what their slaves ate much the same way they did with their other livestock.
Thus the stereotype remains even today: that black people love fried chicken and watermelon more than anything else – valuable delicacies that were meant for Massa’s table only and so tempting that blacks couldn’t help but revert to their true nature and steal them. Because blacks will always steal what they don’t “earn”. Despite the fact that they did all the damned work.
White folks make me tired sometimes.
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Thanks for the post. I have long wondered why this stereotype exists. FWIW, I am white, and I like watermelon and fried chicken. I don’t find the last picture above racist (or at least, it shouldn’t be, if we didn’t have this stupid stereotype). A mom and daughter enjoying a healthy snack together — what could be wrong with that?
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What’s bizarre about this is how much explanation and background knowledge it requires before an up-and-coming racist can understand how to use it. Or before a non-racist can understand the need to be sensitive about it. It’s just so absurdly stupid that I don’t know how to even explain it to my 12-yr old.
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Wow. A lot of open unapologetic resentment and projection about “white” people in these comments. Pretty damn hypocritical if you ask me.
As a stereotype the watermelon one seems to be about as weak as you can get. There’s no real negativity. I can understand if people are associated with something like crime and violence, it can tag individuals within the group as unfairly associated with it. But watermelon is a real “so what?” Also it seems more historical than current and is probably fading as we speak. Want to keep it alive? Then by all means complain and draw attention to it, giving it power.
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Ironic how in the first photo, there is also grape soda which is another black sterotype.
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Objection, I ask that you scroll up a bit and read my comment. Then you will see that what you see as having “no real negativity” is actually a commentary on what many white people still see as the supposed base nature of black people even if they have no idea of the historic context behind these stereotypes.
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Lol niggers, dey luh dat wadamens. Finna get sum righ naw
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These pictures and statements tell how stupid so-called white Americans(United States) are. With all the education and money this country is pitiful and so far behind other countries. How can the United States be a leader.
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[…] Anyway, after the moderator had left with those mysterious questions I asked Mr. Grose to explain how a watermelon field in the White House Lawn of America’s first African-American President could be funny without being a reference to a demeaning racial stereotype. […]
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Very interesting! I always wondered where this watermelon thing came from.
After reading the comments though I think many of you take this WAY too serious! It may originated back in the days where slavery and the oppression of black people was normal. But things have changed. I myself never believed this watermelon/KFC love to be based on truth – Not even the tiniest bit. Still I think it is very funny. This is not racism It is just a meme like insanity wolf or fbf. First time you see it it makes no sense. But after a time it becomes a kind of running gag and then its funny. (that basketball picture is just hilarious)
Everyone offended by this should lose their “they-are-only-doing-this-because-i’m-black” attitude and stand over it. I would’nt mind if anyone cerated a similar thing about white people and potatos or whatever. It is really too silly to be offended by it. And when it goes viral i will laugh at it anyways.
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sorry to say but i do believe that black men in general prefer woman that have attributes that white women have. long hair (a major plus if it’s real). light eyes ( a major plus if it’s real). light skin (major plus if it’s real). red bones use to be the thang but now society is changing and they can have “other than black”. the real conscious brother may get a latino instead of white chick. if that wasn’t the case, than we wouldn’t be wearing straight weave, contacts, too light foundation, or skin lightening cream. too many of us wear it like we were born that way and are disgusted to be ourselves.
and the watermelon deal just may come from the fact that it is easy to grow. during slavery, we made a feast out of scraps, so if we were given watermelon seeds, all you have to do is really just plant them, and the watermelon sprouts out. one melon can feed a family. i have actually seen my friend who is from the country plant them in her yard.
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furthermore, u know how we eat greens, well the greens were the throwaway food. so was a lot of soul food-the scraps that we made tastey. maybe since it was introduced by the slaves, they also laughed at us sayin, dem poor nigga love some hocakes, okra, chittlins, greens, and watermelon- all things that are scraps, or goards (things uppity whites wouldnt eat)
and the poor white irish started that fried chix thing, but they fried it without the batter (and no, black women HATE to tell people what makes their fried chix taste so good, oddly enough, my white friends ask me to fix soulfood and west indian food for them often
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[…] under a cardboard box intended to trap the President is not racist, I invite you to peruse this link. To disagree with a President’s policies is inherently American but to poke fun at his […]
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This just goes to show how ignorant and stupid racism is. I am African American and can’t stand the smell of watermelon. I don’t eat it .
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[…] The Watermelon Stereotype (abagond.wordpress.com) […]
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For the longest time I couldn’t eat watermelon. I feel so embrassed I couldn’t enjoy it that much. Fast Foward after 12 years living in Japan I like suika or better known in English as Watermelon. I can’t imagine I bothered to let the stereotype get to me.
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Hahaha, oh gosh this is hilarious.
This whole food stereotype thing is so silly. As far as the old paintings/ pics go, I like to think that that’s old and this unintelligent, baseless stereotype doesn’t exist to such an extent, and that the whites find it as hilarious (and feel slightly ashame of their ancestors) as the black community. The last pic may have been a statistical outliar or just a coincidence. But what I personally disliked the most was the white girl wt the watermelon. EXCUSE them. What makes them think that white women are a black man’s cup of tea?? The usual stereotype is that its the white women dying for an african man’s attention. Psshhht that picture is absurd and baseless.
Secondly, as a South Asian woman, the amount of fried chicken I eat is insane- I should be banned from Popeyes for the chickens’ sakes. So honestly, thank you to the CHINESE community for the fried food, and the AFRICAN community for the delicious Popeyes Lousiana flavoured chicken, and the SOUTH ASIAN community for owning the most popeyes stores in Canada and being their most regular customers.
The food an individual eats has nothing to do wt his/ her race- its about the culture he/ she grew up with. I was raised in China so like chinese food more than South Asian food- that aint so bad.
This relationship between watermelons and the black community is just another reminder of the ignorance of the Whites back in the day. If anyone still believes in these stereotypes, they need to get out of their lil caves and see the world. And eat Popeyes cuz its damn good.
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[…] https://abagond.wordpress.com/2011/03/10/the-watermelon-stereotype/ […]
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um, Watermelon does originate from our homeland, Africa. Why are we so shameful of eating watermelon? Its a lot more healthier than “SOUL Food”. It cleans you out, rehydrates the bodies tissues, and has many nutrients.
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@ nailah, soul food is a generic term. There are healthy things to eat such as collard greens and okra, some of the healthiest foods you can eat.
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My son loves watermelon but this is a story about chicken. Some people don’t take it as a joke some are very mean spirited about it I have almost punched a man in the face becuse of this stupid stereotype. My husband invited this man and his wife over for dinner I made fried chicken and this was how far the “joke”went. He said “I am not going to eat that it n***er food I dint eat that the only reason you eat it is becuse your mother was a whore” he just went on and on and on for like fifteen minutes his wife just stared at her plate and my husband just sat there trying to calm me down. And then I heard all I could hear and I told him off. Then his wife started screaming at me. The wierdest part of it was he was a public speaker on native American rights so for some odd reason I was supposed to listen to that crap becuse I am white even. My Latino husband told me I should have ignored it becuse that make me the racist one. All that crazy shit for a “joke”
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This article generalizes white people in the same way the stereotype generalizes blacks.
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I’m going to shed some light here, and hopeful my honesty will be a point of reference or awareness…Our brains are designed to categorize things. That’s how we remember things: we associate things with points of reference. That said, let’s be honest. Most white people have minimal contact with black people. We work with a few black people–we’ve gone to school with some black people–we may have some friends who were black in high school or college…but 80 percent or more of the people and homes we’ve visited consisted of other white people.
The images that are posted in this blog represent the smallest fraction of these stereotypes that are planted into our minds on a regular basis about black people. Some of the plentiful references of chicken and watermelon seem to suggest that black people themselves are aware of the stereotype–as if they know they eat a lot of watermelon and joke about it. My family just wached the movie “Are We There Yet,” where the main character, played by Ice Cube, passes a watermelon and takes a double-take.
The point I’m trying to make is that even if we eat fried chicken or watermelon as white people, with all these images all over, when we see a black person eating watermelon or fried chicken, it steepens that stereotype, even if we rarely see it. I’ve wondered about it. I knew that not all black people eat watermelon regularly or fried chicken regularly, but I always wondered if there was in fact some cultural reason for some groups of black people to eat it more often than other groups of people, because it seemed so prevalent a message that “black people eat watermelon and fried chicken.” I wondered if it’s just a southern thing that got more noticed for black people. I realize now that there is no basis for it, but being so exposed to these social meme sort of things, it did get planted in my own mind.
I never really believed it, but it was there in the recesses of my mind. I was aware of it being a socially cured image, but couldn’t shake the wonder.
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Its funny that you scold white people for stereotyping all blacks as loving watermelon then you make the broad generalization that “many white people can believe in a stereotype that is not one bit true.They do not question what they are told about black people, not even the stuff that is easily googled.They think most black people are alike.They can take a seemingly innocent, harmless difference, such as liking watermelon – what in the world is wrong with liking watermelon? – and use it to put down black people and laugh at them, to make them seem like mindless creatures.”
Also when you listed the amount of watermelon that is eaten by each race you countered your own point because you did not factor into the ratio of whites to blacks in the USA. Blacks make up only 13 percent or so of the total population yet they eat more watermelon than whites.
People like you, along with race baiters like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, are the only reason race is even an issue in this country still. You need to get over yourself.
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@ ifarmturnips
1. I did take the ratio into account – the numbers are kg per person.
2. I said “many white people”. That is hardly going out on a limb. If there were not “many” whites who thought this way then the watermelon stereotype would not be a thing.
3. Whites said that blacks were “keeping racism alive” even a hundred years ago, back when WHITES were lynching blacks, stopping them from voting, etc.
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The watermelon thing is a southern thing. As is fried chicken. When masses of southern Blacks moved north, they took their southern palate with them and northerners started to associate watermelon and fried chicken exclusively with black people.
You’re welcome.
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@ ifarmturnips
“the only reason race is even an issue in this country still.”
Wow, the MODERN photos above show that the watermelon stereotype is alive and well…but somehow Abagond, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are the ones keeping racism going. LOL
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@Why,
I assume you’re referring to the Great Migration of Blacks (1910-1930), yet the image of Blacks having a “fondness” for chicken and watermelon predates this.
As early as pre Civil War is when these images began to surface.
So how do you explain this?
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For anyone that is confused.
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Do you not see the hypocrisy of saying that the fact that a stereotype exists that black people enjoy eating watermelon means that ;
“many white people can believe in a stereotype that is not one bit true. They do not question what they are told about black people, not even the stuff that is easily googled.They think most black people are alike. They can take a seemingly innocent, harmless difference, such as liking watermelon – what in the world is wrong with liking watermelon? – and use it to put down black people and laugh at them, to make them seem like mindless creatures.”
You are stereotyping white people and assigning them beliefs and values based on your own perceptions. Saying that believing many black people enjoy watermelons means that MANY white people “do not question what they are told about black people” , and use the watermelon stereotype to “put down black people and laugh at them, to make them seem like mindless creatures.”, is the EXACT same thing you are crying about?
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This is what i seriously have a problem with: when people make light of the implications of these historical stereotypes that have effectively kept Black people seen as incompetent, ne’er-do-well laughing stocks in a society that the very same Black people built.
How sick can a group of people get? I don’t expect for this society or even the whites pretending to be “cool” with Blacks on this blog to be anything other than sick, arrogant and psychotic.
Fact: the very same things that whites told Blacks through cartoons and postcards were “ugly” (full lips, dark brown skins and curved upright female behinds) are the same things they are breaking their necks, wallets and health to get through collagen injections, manufactured melatonin shots, the multi million dollar tanning industry and the works.
The best thing for Black people to do is to realize that this is a part of the nature of whiteness. Since Black people can’t change whites–then we have to change how we see ourselves and create our own realities.
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@Abagond and ALL the Black folk on this blog reading this:
Funny how whites in the midst of their shameful scandals (Paula Deen) always come back and play those tired, sick, psychotic, reverse games of psychology.
Ha!
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Phoebe I don’t think you are helping Abagond make her case any. I also think you are a racist. I also don’t think you know what the term reverse psychology means or how to use it. I also think it would be very amusing to hear you describe to us all how black people built society.
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@ALL the Black people reading this thread; take into account “Exhibit B”–the quote i just posted. . .
Isn’t it amazing how they need our attention? Truly sick behavior that you need the validation of a group of people you claim to be “inferior” and “beneath” you. SMDH
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@phoebeprunelle Ok. I see now that you are not worth debating with. Nowhere in any of my post did I say that I thought anyone was inferior or beneath me. I have no idea who you are quoting when you use those words. All I have done is try to point out the hypocrisy of Agabond’s statements. You are the only one of us that has used any racism. If you are just going to continue to spout baseless, racist comments and not defend any of your points I will not waste any more time replying to you. I would still like to hear from Agabond on whether or not she sees how hypocritical she is being though.
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@ ifarmturnips
So how do you recommend I talk about stereotypes?
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@agabond Most of your essay is fine, if your sole intent was to debunk the stereotype that black people love watermelons more than anyone else. You offered some examples of the stereotype and then you offered some statistics showing that blacks did not eat a disproportionate amount of watermelons in 1996. I don’t believe debunking the stereotype is your sole intent though.
What I take issue with is that you say “The watermelon stereotype is the White American belief that black people have a particular weakness for watermelon.” (present tense).Is it solely a belief of white Americans today? No blacks, Hispanics, or any other races believe that too? What are your sources confirming that? You then make the claim that the simple fact that a stereotype exists about blacks and watermelons (with no consideration of the fact that originated in the distant past before anyone alive today was even born) somehow means that MANY white people today:
1. ” can believe in a stereotype that is not one bit true.” (No members of other races believe in stereo types that aren’t true?)
2. “Do not question what they are told about black people” (What data do you have to confirm this assertion? Even a skinhead or KKK member may question what they believe or are told…you have know way of knowing.)
3.”They think most black people are alike.” (Again how do you know what someone else thinks just because they are white?)
4. “They can take a seemingly innocent, harmless difference, such as liking watermelon – what in the world is wrong with liking watermelon? – and use it to put down black people and laugh at them, to make them seem like mindless creatures.”( Stereotypes and extreme caricatures exist about all races, religions, etc. White people do not have a monopoly on stereotyping other groups of people.)
You cited 30 examples of the watermelon stereotype (18 of which were obviously made before you or I was even born) and you used this small sampling to assign negative traits ,with no empirical evidence, to “many” white people. You basically use a negative stereotype of black people in order to negatively stereotype white people…that is hypocrisy. That is why I don’t believe your intention with this piece was to debunk the watermelon stereotype, it was to express your own negative opinions about white people.
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Consuming an abundance of watermelon may produce effects comparable to the erectile dysfunction drug sildenafil, according to scientists at Texas A&M University. The arginine, produced by citrulline after consuming watermelon, reportedly stimulates nitric oxide which relaxes blood vessels in a manner similar to sildenafil. Many reasons for impotence exist, but the extra nitric oxide obtained from consuming watermelon might help men needing increased blood flow get an erection and improve their heart health at the same time
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/410054-side-effects-of-eating-too-much-watermelon/#ixzz2Ya8nTDYO
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Maybe I should feed my man friend copious amounts of watermelon. As it is he just wants to go for walks and hold hands! Are they in season yet?
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[…] portrayals of Black people as inferior, as we see in the image below (read more about this in Julian Abagond’s blog, where the image also comes from). In this way, these ‘objective’ differences […]
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There is a white man on the KFC bucket because he owned the company. If a Negro owned the company, there would be a Negro’s picture on the bucket.
The whole watermelon thing started when Negros were slaves. The could grow watermelon in the cotton fields below the cotton so that the White master would not see them growing the watermelon. Slaves grew many low growing food items mixed with cotton to survive.
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ifarmturnips, sure I believe you that is when someone kids in Chicago in the late 90’s early 2000’s were trying to insult me they said you F-ing Watermelon eating Co-n. This is how I know you either dreaming or watched to much Pollyanna. Maybe where you from that stereotype has stopped being used, I doubt where I am from in Chicago that it has stopped. When people want to get ugly they all of sudden remember even how to use Tar-baby.
So excuse me if I think you are a little disingenuous.
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King of Trouble please clarify which of my statements I am “dreaming” about, and how your comment supports that point.
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Defenders of slavery used the watermelon as a symbol of simplicity. African American slaves were depicted as happy go lucky and all they needed was a nice shade tree and a tasty treat. That is how this ugly stereotype was created.
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Also, working in the fields doing intense labor. The hot southern sun, slices of watermelon was good for dehydration. This was a way for the slaves to refresh themselves and stay hydrated. Poor blacks ate whatever was convenient, and less expensive. Watermelon was easy to grow. Chicken was also cheaper than beef. Poor southern whites also ate like this as well.
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@Turnips,
We’re saying that white people were the first to concoct the watermelon stereotype in the past and that mainly it is white people who still perpetuate the stereotype to this day through media images
DEAL with it.
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I hate watermelon can’t stand the smell of it. I am a black person.
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But it was racist southern whites who perpetrated this ugly stereotype of African Americans.
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ifarmturnips “What I take issue with is that you say “The watermelon stereotype is the White American belief that black people have a particular weakness for watermelon.” (present tense)”
Somewhere you stuck present tense as if it has gone away. It hasn’t in some places its even more pronounced then in the past. It is still a very big putdown from where I am from. Which happens to be the third largest city in this country. I don’t think it has really ever gone away but sponsored pictures like that have. You can go on internet and easily find people using this negative stereo type today.
So, I am going to stick this in section that includes the likes of the post racism society, santa and your present tense complaint.
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The white-created watermelon stereotype is stupid beyond words. I have always liked watermelon and still eat it on occasion, and I will not be shamed into pretending otherwise.
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It’s annoying to me that commenter Ifarmturnips is being either disingenuous or obtuse, pretending that they can’t understand how this negative stereotypes perpetrated by racist whites is still in existence. Quit playing.
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King of Trouble, saying that the watermelon stereotype is a white American belief is not true; there is no evidence to support that assertion. It may be true that the stereotype was started by whites and that a majority of people who believe that stereotype today are white, but surely there are people of color who also believe in the watermelon stereotype. Claiming it is solely a white belief, and then using that as the basis for attributing negative characteristics to all white people is itself propagating a stereotype and therefore makes Agabond’s whole post hypocrisy.
As far as living in a post racism society goes . . . I think it’s pretty clear that is not the case, but in my own experience the majority of racism is in the form of reverse racism. I live in the south and any of my white friends would be mortified by anyone being racist towards anyone else. I think that aside from the morons in in the KKK, and Neo Nazi nutjobs, most white people are not racist, or at least not overtly so. Whereas I see overt racism from the black community all the time. This entire blog is littered with it. I’m not saying all blacks are racist towards whites, just that I see a lot more racism coming from blacks than from whites.
Of course, as a black person, you may have had completely different experiences than me, but try to impartially evaluate modern society without the baggage of the undeniable racism of the past weighing you down, and ask yourself why is race still an issue in this country and who is making it so?
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Then why the f*** are you here?
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@The Black folk,
i know this clip doesn’t relate to watermelon, but it offers a thorough analysis of the tricky, deceitful deflection that whites (on this thread) and beyond use as the “reverse racism” azz clown of an argument to further confuse, manipulate and silence Black people about the GLOBAL system of racism that was/is created, maintained and beneficial to whites.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3SmQjVhFpc)
We need to just run these azz clowns off our online spaces and stop offering up nice explanations that fall on deaf ears in the first dayum place.
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@phobeprunelle: You called it out right. ifarmturnips was using the deflection tactic, so typical.
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This stereotype is weird as fuck. I mean, because of an individual’s skin colour they automatically love a certain food? Really weird. And a lot of the images that have arisen out of the stereotype are really offensive – portraying black people mindless drones that lose all sense of control when presented with a fruit…?
Also, watermelons actually kinda suck. They’re the most boring melon around, with the least flavoursome flesh, and the most annoying seeds. Cantelope or honeydew over watermelon any day.
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http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/retailer-apologises-after-catalogue-slammed-for-racial-overtones-20131022-2vyso.html
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I was born in New York city in 1959. Although I’m white I remember reading in a very old library book as a child that whites from the South who used these comments we’re implying that blacks were going to the henhouse at night to steal a chicken. Then they would go to a field at night to steal a watermelon. They don’t say anything about pigs because it’s difficult to pick up a pig at night and run off with it. They’re implying blacks are thieves just like when a racist cop stops a black person in their car. That black person owns the car and not steal it but they’ll still get stopped by a cop. It’s just hateful stereotypes.
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That’s fine if you call it a stereotype, but don’t forget that stereotypes DO come from somewhere. You state why the stereotype may possibly be wrong today, but fail to mention why watermelon is always associated with blacks. I dont see how it matters what the % of consumption is today when this isn’t a new stereotype. It obviously comes from hundreds of years ago based on your story….so how about stating some useful facts like “where did the stereotype really come from long ago?”…..you know, something useful to read.
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You missed the point yo yo. The author of this post didn’t write it to educate people about the watermelon stereotype. He/she is just using the fact that one exists to justify his/her own racism against whites. This entire blog is one giant exercise in overt hypocritical racism.
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“You see it in the poetry of Carl Sandburg from 1918:
Why do I always think of niggers and buck-and-wing dancing whenever I see watermelon?”
He was a hell of a poet. Beautiful.
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Such an interesting post, Abagond. Just looking through those images gives one so much insight into the weird black hole that is the white racist mind, which I’m not even going to dignify by calling it dysfunctional. These images are disrespectful, crude, ill-mannered, nasty, uncivil, and abusive, which accurately describes the kind of people who would create them. The truth hurts.
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[…] Historic stereotypical images of blacks and watermelon. (Fair warning, VERY racist imagery.) The watermelon stereotype | Abagond General black stereotype and racism info Stereotypes of African Americans – Wikipedia, the free […]
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@ ifarmturnips
You know, after reading your many posts, I was going to respond disagreeing with your many assertions, but for now though, I’ll just let sleeping dogs lie (not calling you a dog). However, I have to respond to this:
“Of course, as a black person, you may have had completely different experiences than me, but try to impartially evaluate modern society without the baggage of the undeniable racism of the past weighing you down, and ask yourself why is race still an issue in this country and who is making it so?”
All I can I say is WOW! Are the last seventeen words postulated, hyperbole?
Certainly, you aren’t insinuating that black people are the architects of their racial stereotypes, their current condition and oppression. Should that be the case, then it wouldn’t be difficult to argue that “most whites are racist,” and more. You’ve shown solidarity with yo yo, and his assertion is: “don’t forget that stereotypes DO come from somewhere,” why wouldn’t then be true that “most whites are racist?” They were the ones who conceived it, codified it and established institution for its furtherance – and overwhelmingly brutal upon until recently, OR is it your stance that stereotypes can only be about POC, and whites, due to their racial superiority, is immuned to, or inoculated against stereotypes.
By the way, what is “reverse racism,” AND HOW DOES IT MANIFEST ITSELF IN YOUR LIFE? No silly stuff! I want to hear that black people passing laws just before an important general election restricting your ability to vote without a VOTER ID CARD. Blacks passing laws curtailing days and hours for advanced polling in primarily white districts OR receiving notification in your mail box that the polling date for your precinct has been postponed – and will be held the following day – the day after the actual election.
You and other white farmers in the South suffered catastrophic losses due to drought and the Black Administrator, United States Department Agriculture (USDA) for that region approved ALL the black farmers’ applications for grants and loans and not even one white farmer was approved for the entire region; although, in many instances, your fellow white farmer’s farm was adjacent to his black neighbour’s. Consequently, most of the white farmers lost their land. Interested, look it up for yourself. This is not ancient history!
If you care to: I responded to another commenter nearly 3 weeks ago, on another topic: the link here, (https://abagond.wordpress.com/2014/01/02/why-do-whites-hate-demonize-fear-and-look-down-on-blacks/).
Since empirical data is important to you: approximately three years ago, and since you live in the South, not sure if you were born and raised, found that whopping forty six percent of registered members of a certain political party in a Deep South state, IN THIS DAY AND AGE, agreed that: “interracial marriage was not just wrong, but that it should be illegal.” – Personally, I’m not in the business of telling anyone with whom they should find romantic bonds. Nevertheless, the survey is still startling. Black people rarely vote for this party: guess who the culprits are? I will not provide you with a link or those of WHITE AMERICA’S ENDURING CULTURAL LEGACY OF STEREOTYPES OF BLACK PEOPLE/POC; we’ve done enough of your back breaking work. If you have any interest in these matters, EDUCATE YOURSELF!
You’ve illustrated unintentionally, why systemic racism still exist. And, as long as those who created, fostered and continue to turn a blind eye it, it will be an impediment and a deferment to the promise of “social justice for all.”
I know what’s being discussed here is just a theoretical exercise for you and many whites – leurs vies de dénégation continuent.
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[…] (Black) Family settled into the White House, Black citizens suddenly felt comfortable enough to enjoy a slice of delicious, refreshing watermelon and that piece of chicken at the company BBQ without reproach or side-eyes from their co-workers. […]
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Seriously? This is still a conversation worth having? I do have to say I’m still laughing at the “Watermelon Usage” Statistics -who is monitoring watermelon consumption??? And I love all the responses…so serious and important sounding.
Can we grow up now? Realize that some people will continue to be racist on both sides of the discussion, well, really on all sides.
I don’t care what your ethnicity is there are probably racist underpinnings coming from that corner too.
Rather than focusing on the ridiculous attempt to convert non-believers accept them for who they are and continue to strengthen the positive relationships with those of us that don’t share that opinion.
One other note why isn’t there a blog about the big “cock” stereotype? Or do we encourage stereotypes that we like while trying to dispel the one’s we don’t?
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I like how the article is about stereotypes and yet all whites are all grouped into being the willing perpetrators of this nonsence.
I am white and dont participate in stereotypes. Unfortunately there are quite a few people that blame others for their problems. This includes blacks, whites, hispanics, asians and anyone else who is a part of this human race.
How about we all stop looking for excuses why were not where we want to be and work a little harder on our selves.
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@ Alex B
How about YOU work a little harder on your reading skills. In the post I said, point blank, “many white people “, not “all whites”.
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Next up we’ll discuss the drunken Irish stereotype! Oh wait a minute…no, no we won’t. Because nobody cares! Can we stop having silly debates and discussions like this? We get it. Stereotyping = Bad. And yet it’s still so much fun to do unless you’re too immature to handle it or take them way too seriously. Please find an ethnicity that does not have a stereotype associated with them. Irish = Drunk, English = Bad Teeth, French = Cowards, Italians = Too many to list…it goes on and on. Side note: why is it that no one gets upset with the black guy large c*ck stereotype? Hmmm that’s odd isn’t it? I mean we should really attack all stereotypes equally, right?
Please, please can we stop playing grab ass and move on? There are greater issues to discuss than the “Great Watermelon/Fried Chicken” debate.
Both are delicious by the way.
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your ratios dont consider that blacks outnumber whites 3 to 1 cause the bi racial claim blck status. im native americn and get accused of being hispanic but ppl are dumb
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It’s so wonderful and brave the way you took apart that horrid stereotype. Bravo! Someone should let the blacks know what a swell thing you’ve done to ease their burden. Perhaps now you will focus your powers of illumination on another equally important bit of foolishness. FBI and all other law enforcement agencies that keep track of these things tell us that blacks commit 38% of all homicides but only represent 13% of the population. Other nations report similar stats. Please explain why they all hate black skin so much.
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@ robert osborne
You are a bigot. Nothing I can say is going to change your mind:
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@robert osborne: Why do you hate black skin so much since you are on this site and spewing your hateful language?
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[…] The watermelon stereotype. […]
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Was watching an Melissa Harris Perry on MSNBC and Herbie Hancock was a guest he talked about one his hit songs “Watermelon Man” he said it made him angry that an inanimate object like a watermelon could be used as such a symbol of hate and shame where black people were concerned. He said he wrestled with the title and wondered if he did the right thing naming his musical piece “Watermelon Man.” I love that this piece myself. But i thought it was a great interview with Hancock. And i admire his candor sharing this about his work.
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MOROCCO ALSO LIKE WM
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I know this is old.. but the person that comment below about Hispanics are wrong. Hispanics careless about watermelon. Mango is more popular among Hispanics. Very few eat watermelons. My mom is one of those few. Because she loves all fruits. But to be real Asians eat them the most. Studies shows they eat them the most. Plus every time i watch Korean drama they are eating watermelon. In anime the characters are smashing watermelon even eating them. The Japanese also turn watermelons into box shapes. I never noticed when i was younger but the more i got into the Asian culture, the more i seen this trend.
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It is mysterious, until you read Redman1000’s comment: “… people only use their hands to eat Watermelon and Chicken and racists made it seem black people were uncivilized since their “favorite” foods didn’t require them to use utensils.” It all makes sense now. Also combine the fact that watermelon is a very communal food suitable for large community gatherings… you share it with others. Everyone should eat more watermelon!
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Why is it considered racist to assume that a black person likes chicken?
It shouldn’t have been considered racist. Just a stereotype. But over the years, whites figured out a way to make commenting on foods that blacks eat racist. They did this with chicken and watermelon and recently with kool-aid. The theory being (I gue…
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[…] “Watermelons?” I asked. “What’s wrong with watermelons?” Turns out, a lot. Hundreds of years’ worth of racial stereotypes that I was utterly unaware of. This is just one […]
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I never understood the watermelon thing. However, the fact that black people score 15 percent lower on IQ tests, or the 72 percent of black children, and 92 percent of biracial children with a black father are born our of wedlock, and that somewhere between 38 and 42 percent of black households recieve Welfare….Those are troubling.
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@ Maria
More uncorroborated stereotypes in a post about stereotypes!
Spare Black people your phony concern. White people are in the middle of not one, not two, but three raging drug epidemics (meth, heroin, and prescription painkillers) White men are killing themselves with alcohol, painkillers and guns. White women without a college degree are dying earlier than a generation ago from preventable maladies.
In short, Maria, get your own house in order before tsk, tsking about other people’s houses.
P.S. Step out of your time warp. Welfare ended in 1996, under the Clinton Administration. Throughout the life of the program (Aid For Dependent Children) and at the time it was eliminated, the majority of cash payment receipients were White——-just like the general population.
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Maria, are you saying that eating watermelons makes one stupid? If so you must have, do, eat them by the busloads!
Spare Black people your phony concern. White people are in the middle of not one, not two, but three raging drug epidemics (meth, heroin, and prescription painkillers) White men are killing themselves with alcohol, painkillers and guns. White women without a college degree are dying earlier than a generation ago from preventable maladies.
Must be their IQ of 60! By cracky they are more stupid than us Black folks and the ‘biracials’ with Black fathers!
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@Herneith
LOL!!!
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Sadly, I moved from Iowa to “Lubbock, Texas” and learned all those ignorant low IQ’s racial concern. As I observed: Iowans farmers know about William Shakespeare, Texans does not how to read a pamphlet.
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20+ Rarely Seen Photos Of America In The 1950’s Show How Different Life Was Before
By Monika Brazaitytė
#51 Summertime In America, 1950’s: Eating Watermelon
https://www.boredpanda.com/usa-vintage-50s-color-photography/?page_numb=6
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OMG, they’re putting salt on their watermelon. If you look carefully, you can see two salt shakers on the table.
That’s just wrong.
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@ Maria: Your ignorance is sad it just makes me shake my head.
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Blacks eats and love watermelon so what ?, who’s created the fruit? If it’s meant for God’s creations and everyone can enjoy it then forget about them making critic’s, black or white life goes on, hate me or hate me not life still goes on as the Creator of the human eye have got very very big eyes, life still goes on, and I know for sure the white man lost the blackness of his skin and is now jealous of being born white.
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I came across two articles about anti-Black tropes surrounding watermelons. Food shaming Black people with negative stereotypes about watermelons was an outgrowth of post Civil War economic fears.
Like the Fried Chicken stereotype, food shaming Black people about something every other group eats still has a strong hold over the national imagination.
Few White Americans are aware of the economic origins of the watermelon trope. They simply use watermelon imagery against Black people.
A lot of Black people respond by recoiling from associations with watermelons because of the sheer number of demeaning images over the past 150 years.
Watermelon and White Fear
A major fear of the US White power structure was the development of an independent, prosperous Black population.
Those fears were not confined to the old Confederacy. White institutions in the North like major newspapers were also part of watermelon shaming efforts.
Prior to the Civil War, enslaved Black people were not singled out for ridicule when it came to watermelons.
A fondness for watermelon was usually associated with poor Italians or Arabs overseas or poor, rural White people in various parts of the US.
According to a 2014 Atlantic article, “How Watermelons Became a Racist Trope”,
https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/how-watermelons-became-a-racist-trope/383529/
Watermelon Shaming and Commerce
Once the watermelon stereotype was amplified by major newspapers and magazines, advertisers produced a blizzard of anti-Black ad images featuring watermelons.
Later, manufacturers got in on the act producing household items like tableware, dishrags, postcards, sheet music, ashtrays and bric-a-brac showing ragged Black people and watermelons.
Watermelon shaming of Black people with postcard images was especially negative. Some early 1900s postcards depicted Black people stealing, fighting over, or sitting in streets eating watermelon.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/watermelon-racism_l_5d2dfea4e4b0a873f6428b9c
Debra Freeman, writer and editor of Southern Grit magazine noted watermelon shaming was “used all over [the US] and a calculated decision to stop Black people from empowering themselves.”
These efforts managed to turn a symbol of Black economic independence into a symbol of poverty and disorder.
Sometimes understanding the real reasons something was done is the first step in stripping that thing of its power.
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