After giving kids fried chicken, watermelon, and waffles on the first day of Black History Month, administrators at a middle school in New York have apologized.
Officials at Nyack Middle School, an hour west of New York City, apologized for the “inexcusably inappropriate” dinner that capitalized on racist tropes from the past in a letter to parents.
“The offering of chicken and waffles as an entree with watermelon as a dessert on the first day of Black History Month was inexcusably insensitive and reflected a lack of understanding of our district’s vision to address racial bias,” said the Nyack principal, David Johnson, the local news affiliate WABC reported.
Administrators at the school also mentioned that Aramark, the school’s caterer, delivered a different meal from what had been planned.
On February 1, students were expected to receive cheesesteaks, broccoli, and fruit, per a menu on the school website.
Since the US abolished slavery, watermelon has been associated with black people. The fruits became emblems of Black liberation after emancipation, as many of them were grown and sold by Black people. According to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, White individuals who opposed the abolition of slavery used watermelons as a means of disparaging Black people.
Meanwhile, according to Georgetown University professor Marcia Chatelain, who teaches history and African American studies, fried chicken has also been used to disparage Black people in the US because slaves mastered the recipe, was published in the Washington Post in 2019.
Parents and students expressed their anger at the edited dinner choice.
“They were asking people if they want watermelon, and I remember being confused because it’s not in season,” Nyack student Honore Santiago said to WABC7.
Santiago added: “Didn’t think the company could make us feel bad … especially the kids my color.”
After that, Aramark expressed regret over the food.
“The situation at that middle school was our mistake and never should have happened,” an Aramark spokesperson said in a statement, the Washington Post reported.
Not for the first time, Aramark has drawn criticism for serving food with overtly racist themes.
New York school issues apology after students were served chicken, waffles, and watermelon for Black History Month. pic.twitter.com/YBGXuLaaaH
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) February 4, 2023
According to the New York Times, Aramark faced intense criticism in 2018 for providing students at New York University with a lunch that featured watermelon-flavored water as part of a dinner recognizing Black History Month.
Aramark fired several workers who handled the dinner without including school staff after school authorities publicly criticized it as “insensitive.”
The following year, the institution terminated its agreement with Aramark.
After delivering fried chicken and waffles to University of California at Irvine students on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2011, Aramark caused a similar uproar.
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