Iirc (don’t quote me on this) during reconstruction after the Civil War many black Americans had little land (if any) and watermelon was an easy crop for limited land. Racist white people then associated the fruit with those they hate.
You got it, but you left out some details. The watermelon was actually a symbol of hope and prosperity for the recently freed slaves. The former slave owners, didnt like it. So, owning the media of the time, they started running ads showing caricatures of black people eating watermelon like animals. It took less then 10 years for the belief to become common that it was always a racist trope.
See also, fried chicken. That one came from Birth of a Nation. Both of these racist stereotypes persist today. I know the black community in America wanted to reclaim the N word, but IMO, they should have reclaimed the Watermelon as the symbol of freedom and perseverance that it once was for that first generation of freed slaves who over came massive hurdles to make a life for themselves.
To give you an idea of just how bad it was, there was a story about a woman who was a nanny for a young boy. When she was freed, and had to leave the boy cried and was utterly distraught that she was leaving. A few years later that young boy met his nanny again. The woman was overjoyed to see him and asked if he’d like to share some watermelon with him. His reply? “I dont eat n***** food.”. Thats the power of the media, and then it was only a few newspapers. Just imagine what its doing to us all today.
Iirc (don’t quote me on this) during reconstruction after the Civil War many black Americans had little land (if any) and watermelon was an easy crop for limited land. Racist white people then associated the fruit with those they hate.
You got it, but you left out some details. The watermelon was actually a symbol of hope and prosperity for the recently freed slaves. The former slave owners, didnt like it. So, owning the media of the time, they started running ads showing caricatures of black people eating watermelon like animals. It took less then 10 years for the belief to become common that it was always a racist trope.
See also, fried chicken. That one came from Birth of a Nation. Both of these racist stereotypes persist today. I know the black community in America wanted to reclaim the N word, but IMO, they should have reclaimed the Watermelon as the symbol of freedom and perseverance that it once was for that first generation of freed slaves who over came massive hurdles to make a life for themselves.
To give you an idea of just how bad it was, there was a story about a woman who was a nanny for a young boy. When she was freed, and had to leave the boy cried and was utterly distraught that she was leaving. A few years later that young boy met his nanny again. The woman was overjoyed to see him and asked if he’d like to share some watermelon with him. His reply? “I dont eat n***** food.”. Thats the power of the media, and then it was only a few newspapers. Just imagine what its doing to us all today.