“We want to acknowledge some feedback received regarding our Juneteenth celebration,” Pezzuto said in his letter obtained by The North Carolina Beat. “Although our intent was to celebrate this nationally recognized day, some of you voiced your concerns regarding the associated food choices.”

In other words, we’re sorry you were offended.

  • sunzu@kbin.run
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    26 days ago

    The thing is that both are great foods but knowing how a southern white clown thinks… they meant it. Fuk 'em

  • exanime@lemmy.today
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    25 days ago

    Asking because I don’t know, please don’t read into it more than that…

    What’s the problem with chicken and watermelon? Other than not been a fancy food, it seems a step up from the pizza lunches we normally get

    I understand there is a link (not a negative one, as far as I know) between African American folks and fried chicken… But as a Venezuelan native I would not be offended if my work served me Arepas as a celebration of anything related to me or my culture

    • Marighost@lemm.eeOP
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      25 days ago

      There is a long-standing history of using fried chicken and watermelon (among other foods) to negatively depict Black People in the United States. I agree that both foods are excellent (watermelon even being a popular summertime fruit that can feed a lot of people), but having them together on Juneteenth (a day of celebration for the freedom of Black People) is pretty on the nose.

    • tburkhol@lemmy.world
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      26 days ago

      Looks to me like BBQ chicken would have been more appropriate, but I’m a white guy, so I’m going to say that I have no place picking a corporate Juneteenth menu. I’m not even sure it’s appropriate for a corp to have a Juneteenth celebration - give people the freedom to recognize it however they like, without the oversight of corporate bosses. It’s like having a corporate seder for rosh hashanah or an eid al-Fitr: guaranteed to go badly.

      If the corp does insist on having a party, they need to have members of the relevant community as prominent organizers, not some dude named Pezzuto. A white guy planning Juneteenth is going to be either condescending or cultural appropriation.

    • growsomethinggood@reddthat.com
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      26 days ago

      I’m not seeing fried chicken on that article though, just barbecue (which could be chicken or not, but wouldn’t be fried). Judging by the company response, someone over there is definitely being an asshole, even if there are elements that are traditional.

        • Cosmonauticus@lemmy.world
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          26 days ago

          The fuck it is. Black ppl aren’t a monolith with a hive mind. We don’t all agree on everything. Also there’s a huge difference between a majority white controlled mega corporation handing out Friday chicken and watermelon on juneteenth vs a private local celebration doing it. Especially since it’s not the ONLY thing they serve

          Jesus Christ the fact this even has to be explained

        • die444die@lemmy.world
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          26 days ago

          I’m not trying to be an asshole.

          Maybe you’ll believe from a sistah

          This is manufactured outrage

          Mhmm. Not trying to be an asshole indeed.

          To the commenter below - No, you didn’t have to explain to this asshole anything. They know what they are doing and saying. Considering how easy it is to block people in lemmy, I’m taking advantage of that right now by blocking them.