How Watermelon Became a Racial Stereotype

White Southerners, resentful of Black economic progress, began a campaign to twist the watermelon's symbolism.

Author

Shawn Hylton
November 12, 2024

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CULTURAL HISTORY
How Watermelon Became a Racial Stereotype…

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The story begins in the aftermath of the Civil War. As newly emancipated Black Americans sought economic independence, many turned to farming and selling crops they could easily grow. Watermelons, with their hardy nature and popularity, became a common choice.

"Newly emancipated Africans employed their farming and entrepreneur abilities to produce and sell items like watermelon and the like," explains Dr. Jo Von McCalester, a lecturer at Howard University. "Personal gardens and their ability to sell its goods after completing their obligations, fostered a taste of freedom driven by their own efforts and on their own terms."

A Bitter Response…

This burgeoning entrepreneurship and self-sufficiency threatened the racial hierarchy of the post-Civil War South. White Southerners, resentful of Black economic progress, began a campaign to twist the watermelon's symbolism.

"The sheer audacity for Freed Africans to persevere in spite of their deplorable action, caused the concerted effort and sharp response of Southern whites to create a racist trope around the fruit and freed Africans," Dr. McCalester notes.

Propaganda Takes Root

By the late 1860s, racist caricatures linking Black Americans to watermelons began appearing in popular media. These images portrayed Black people as lazy, simple-minded, and obsessed with the fruit. The stereotype served a sinister purpose: to undermine Black dignity and justify continued oppression.

"By associating the fruit with ideas like ignorance, uncleanliness, and laziness, refusing to accept their participation in society, politics, business, etc., is viewed as justified," explains Dr. McCalester.

A Pervasive Poison

Throughout the Jim Crow era, the watermelon stereotype spread like a noxious weed. It appeared in advertisements, toys, household items, and even early films. The 1915 movie "The Birth of a Nation" infamously included a scene of newly freed slaves abandoning work to feast on watermelons, cementing the stereotype in popular culture.

The Long Shadow

The impact of this stereotype has been far-reaching and long-lasting. Many Black Americans, aware of the painful history, developed a complex relationship with the fruit. Some avoided eating watermelon in public to escape potential ridicule or judgment.

"The stigma associated with dark skin, oversized smiles, and red lips eating watermelon, has caused so many to socialize younger generations to steer clear of the fruit," Dr. McCalester observes. "The backlash and perception of being associated with the fruit can even be seen contemporarily, even if Black People don't fully understand the historic implications of consuming the fruit."

The watermelon stereotype serves as a stark reminder of how seemingly innocuous objects can be twisted into tools of prejudice. It's a history that underscores the importance of critically examining the origins of racial stereotypes and working to uproot them from our cultural consciousness.