They Forgot Watermelon

                There are many ways to honor Martin Luther King Jr., the prominent face and leader of the Civil Rights Movement, on the holiday chosen to celebrate his life and dedication for equality. Many people post one of his many quotes from his “I Have a Dream” speech or "Letter from a Birmingham Jail"; others attend marches honoring the orator and his advocacy of nonviolent protests. The noblest way to honor Dr. King’s memory is to speak about the history of the movement, the importance of the protests to obtain basic human rights, and to have an open discussion on how the nation can further shine a light on the darkness of racism and poverty.

Of course in the land of capitalism and endless marketing schemes, the celebration of this iconic figure is used to promote brand products like Buick or PetSmart. The Borgata, a casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey decided to honor Dr. King with a menu of his favorite foods to offer its guests. It wasn’t heavily promoted by the casino, only brought to the public’s attention by a regular-Joe’s tweet. A picture revealed the prefix menu special, fried chicken and collard greens with pecan pie for dessert, leading the guest to openly question “is it racist?” This lone tweet was enough to garner local media attention from CBS to NJ.com, followed by a slew of commenters on Facebook and Twitter to denounce the iteration of racism. Many defended the menu, using the overflow of soda-bread and Shamrock Shakes during St. Patrick’s Day as a viable comparison. It surely seems this time around, the media made a bigger deal about it than those actually affected by racism.

Many commenters had the impression that MLK Day was a black holiday (even though a majority of blacks and browns living in this country most likely had to work) similar to “everybody’s Irish” holiday or Cinco de “get wasted on Coronas and Tequila”. With these indelible mindsets, it is obvious why somebody would look at this menu and think it a cruel joke in expense of an American legend, the stereotypical thought of what food black people like. As one white commenter claimed “I love fried chicken and pecan pie, I must be black.” MLK Day is not a black holiday. Black History Month is weeks away, even that isn’t a holiday but a lackluster peace offering for a whitewash history lesson taught daily. MLK Day is to recognize the leadership and triumph of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to recognize his accomplishments and preaches of peace, solidarity and equality.

The casino resort defended its menu choices, manager saying the head chef is an African-American woman wanted to make this $27 prefix dinner course, conducting research on Dr. King’s favorite meal. She had plenty of good intentions; she was just trying to do her part to honor the fallen hero. It’s unfortunate for her that her unique offering would be lost on a white crowd enjoying a three day weekend; they don’t completely appreciate what this day means for many as they waste money on gambling and wine bottles, potentially disrespecting the menu as “black people food.” I’m sure Dr. King would have appreciated the gesture immensely; though I’m even surer he wished it was offered to a different crowd. Like the poor and needy that couldn’t afford such a meal, especially those surviving on food stamps that only amount to $33 a person per week.

As a white person, I am not a credible judge on whether the menu selection was racist, a poorly thought out attempt to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or an innocuous gesture not worthy of ridicule or debate. What I can say is there are many better ways to rejoice the life for a person that fought endlessly and compassionately for basic human rights. When it comes to businesses, whether local or multinational, it’s a very slippery slope to glorify such a figure without coming across as insensitive or disrespectful. At least it wasn’t a political group, with many ties to racism and ancestors that stood for segregation and Jim Crow laws, trying to “reclaim” the memorable leader as a part of their own. That’s really what makes Dr. King turn in his grave.