merrily
merrily's JournalNo, but if there had been, I can't imagine that
there would have been this uproar, or that the story would not have noted it, in fairness to the school. And the school might have not apologized, or at least included a reference to the lesson in its apology. So I think it was a lot more likely than not that there was no instruction. In any event, IMO, if it were done sensitively, that's what I think would have made it okay.
Again, the school has apologized. If the school thought nothing were wrong, an apology would have been dishonest, IMO.
Given that, why does it seem so important to you that nothing was wrong with serving a stereotype associated with southern slaves and grinning very black boys eating watermelon as a way of commemorating Black History Month?
Actually, I don't have anything backwards.
I have a lot of cookbooks, including one that supposedly were the recipes of a slave and have watched a ton of food/cooking shows that included food history segments, including one by a knowledgeable African American woman whose name sadly is not coming to mind right now.
I know, for example, that rice became a Southern crop because of the slave trade and not because it originated in the Carolinas. I also know that Southern food is a hybrid and chitterlin's are eating "low on the hog" because that is what slaves were forced to do. On the other hand, their owners ate high on the hog. I have even served Hoppin' John on several New Year's Days.
I am not saying I know tons about it, but I get it enough not to be that confused.
But none of the above has a thing to do with this thread.
Fried chicken and corn bread were not foods or preparations brought over from Africa. And I would bet my last dollar, last cent, that watermelon was not served those kids because the school's cooks knew the plant originated in Africa.
The school apologized. Why do we have to keep defending it?
I just looked at your post again. To clarify, when I wrote that the meal was about Southerners, I meant ALL people of the South, all colors and origins. What did you mean?
What the hell do chitterlings and sorghum have to do with anyone but
Southerners? And exactly what is it that makes us associate Southern food with African Americans?
Any reason why African American history month means we have to feed kids in Northern California as though they are slaves?
Jaysus!
ETA: To answer your question: If the meal had been part of a lesson on slavery, that would have been different. Ditto if they were given only traditional African foods or foods that had originated in Africa. But they went to a stereotype based on slavery.
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