Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Indianapolis Children's Museum Apologizes After Backlash For Selling 'Juneteenth Watermelon Salad'

Indianapolis Children's Museum Apologizes After Backlash For Selling 'Juneteenth Watermelon Salad'
Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images; Jonelle Slaughter/Facebook

The Indianapolis Children's Museum has apologized after significant backlash for a menu item that was chosen for their "Juneteenth Jamboree."

The scorned food, a pre-packaged watermelon salad called "Juneteenth Watermelon Salad", has been criticized for feeding into Jim Crow era racist stereotypes about Black communities and the foods they eat.


Licey Smith, a Black patron who was visiting the museum with her daughter and nephew, told the Indianapolis Star:

"To have that many people sit in a room and no one raises their hand to say, ‘This is kind of awkward,’ is upsetting."

The backlash over the salad came as soon as it came up on the internet's radar.

TMZ and local paper the Indianapolis Star covered the museum's controversial menu choice on June 4 and it all snowballed from there.





The museum's official apology reads:

"As a museum, we apologize and acknowledge the negative impact that stereotypes have on Black communities. The salad has been removed from the menu."
"We are currently reviewing how we may best convey these stories and traditions during this year’s Juneteenth celebration as well as making changes around how future food selections are made by our food service provider."
"Our food service provider uses the food and beverage menu to commemorate and raise awareness of holidays like Juneteenth. The team that made this selection included their staff members who based this choice of food on their own family traditions."
"As we work to create a culture of empowerment and inclusivity, we know there will be stumbles along the way. As a museum, we have put a significant effort behind sharing the critical and diverse stories of a wide range of individuals."
"We also have placed a strong emphasis on expanding DEAI initiatives throughout the museum. We resolve to do better, and continue bringing all voices forward in our work."

Even after the museum's apology, many remained incredulous the decision had been made in the first place.

There was a significant amount of criticism for the museum's apology as well.




@VofDoom/Twitter

The museum has since revised their apology to say "Black communities."

More from Trending

Alex Cooper singing 'Take Me Out to the Ballgame'
@MBDChicago/Twitter (X)

'Call Her Daddy' Host Alex Cooper Gets Brutally Booed At Wrigley Field After Painfully Off-Key Singing

If there's one thing that all baseball fans can come together about, it's the importance of their traditions—and songs.

In the seventh inning at Wrigley Field during a match between the Cubs and the Cardinals, popular Call Her Daddy podcast host Alex Cooper was invited to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and brought two backup dancers with her.

Keep ReadingShow less
Linda Yaccarino
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

X CEO Resigns Day After AI Chatbot Grok Praised Hitler In Alarming Series Of Antisemitic Tweets

Linda Yaccarino—the former NBC Universal executive who later took the reins at X—stepped down as CEO of billionaire Elon Musk's platform after two years on the job just a day after Grok, the platform's AI chatbot, went on antisemitic rants and openly praised Adolf Hitler.

Grok issued deeply antisemitic responses on Tuesday following a reported software update that encouraged the bot to embrace what developers described as the “politically incorrect.” Taking that directive to heart, Grok responded with a series of disturbing posts that included praise for Hitler and even a statement expressing its aspiration to become a “digital version” of the Nazi leader.

Keep ReadingShow less
Black and white photo of a falling spider.
Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

People Divulge Their 'Rare' Phobias That People Refuse To Believe

I am a SEVERE claustrophobic.

I have struggled with this issue for decades.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ted Cruz
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

'The Onion' Rips Ted Cruz With Brutal Headline After Yet Another Vacation During Texas Disaster

The satirical news site The Onion had social media users cackling with its brutal headline mocking Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz for once again being out of the country when Texas was hit by another deadly natural disaster.

Cruz faced considerable national backlash after he flew to Cancún while millions of people went without food and water as a result of the February 2021 Texas power disaster. At least 246 people were killed directly or indirectly; some estimates suggested as many as 702 people were killed as a result of the crisis.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk and Grimes
Kevin Tachman/Getty Images for Vogue

Elon Musk's Ex Grimes Calls X Platform A 'Poison' And 'Theatre' After Social Media Hiatus

Claire Boucher—who performs and creates under her stage name Grimes, but prefers her birth name or just "C" offstage—recently returned to her musical persona's social media accounts after taking a hiatus for her own well-being.

Once extremely active, she noted on X in April:

Keep ReadingShow less