On Friday, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis sent out invitations to its Juneteenth celebration, the “Juneteenth Jamboree,” but now the museum has been in hot water after community members called it out for a dish its food court was selling.
The dish in question was a “Juneteenth Watermelon Salad,” and while it wasn’t on the Facebook invitation, many called out the museum, like one Black woman who posted a photo of the food being served in the comments.
“So y’all decided ‘hey let’s celebrate by perpetuating offensive stereotypes.’ Y’all really thought this was a good idea?” the woman posted.
A spokesperson for the museum admitted it was a bad idea in an email to The Washington Post and shared that the item was permanently removed from the food court menu. On top of that, it issued an apology on Saturday, saying it had chosen the dish based on staff members’ family traditions.
The museum added that it knows the “negative impact that stereotypes have on Black communities.”
Watermelons have been used to belittle Black people as a racist trope dating back to the Jim Crow era, according to the National Museum of African American History.
While they were once a sign of self-sufficiency and freedom for Black people after Emancipation, it has been twisted into a stereotype used to harm, according to the museum.
In their comments to the Post, the spokesperson echoed that the museum overstepped by having the dish on the menu, and it now knows that.
“We deeply regret the hurt and the pain that the food offering in our food court has caused, and we apologize. It is unacceptable that this took place in our museum,” the spokesperson told The Post.
Even though the museum has apologized for serving the dish, many were still upset and let them know on social media, calling for others not to attend the event and saying they only wanted to make money.
Several other brands have been called out for attempting to monetize Juneteenth, like Target, who admitted one of its displays “missed the mark.” Walmart also apologized for some of the items that it was selling.
Juneteenth is a day of celebration that symbolizes the end of slavery in the United States and was made a federal holiday last year.
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