A construction company in northern Idaho has drawn ire thanks to the owner’s affinity for racist imagery. Jim Valentine, who also uses the Confederate flag on his trucks, deflects criticism about using one of the most classic, indisputably racist imagery of Black people: a caricature of a young Black girl happily eating watermelon. Don’t believe me? Check it out yourself:
It’s common knowledge that depicting Black people with watermelon—or even just insinuating that we love to eat it—is racially insensitive at best. If you’re unfamiliar with the reasons why watermelon became such an awful symbol of hatred and oppression, I recommend this piece from the Atlantic (emphasis mine):
But the stereotype that African Americans are excessively fond of watermelon emerged for a specific historical reason and served a specific political purpose. The trope came into full force when slaves won their emancipation during the Civil War. Free black people grew, ate, and sold watermelons, and in doing so made the fruit a symbol of their freedom. Southern whites, threatened by blacks’ newfound freedom, responded by making the fruit a symbol of black people’s perceived uncleanliness, laziness, childishness, and unwanted public presence. This racist trope then exploded in American popular culture, becoming so pervasive that its historical origin became obscure. Few Americans in 1900 would’ve guessed the stereotype was less than half a century old.
But like any good, ol’ racist, Dixie Services owner Valentine wouldn’t let something like history or facts to ruin his racist fun. ABC affiliate KXLY reports reveals that he’s just as clueless as you’d expect (or perhaps he’s just pretending to be):
Jim Valentine, the owner of Dixie Services, says it fits the image he wants to portray, which promotes the good and happy times for many people in American history.
His landscaping company also uses the confederate flag as a logo.
“This kind of hatred thing that’s been built up around the Confederate flag, there’s a lot of goodness and happiness and it’s a part of history and a part of heritage, so we put the name on our company,” he said.
Valentine says his company is about promoting the happy spirit that was alive in the South.
So when he saw this image of a smiling young black girl eating watermelon, he saw nothing wrong with the drawing.
Newsflash: The “many people” in his statement about it representing “good and happy times for many people in American history” are just racist white people. He tried to prove that he simply can’t be racist because his wife is West Indian — but the ethnic identity of someone’s partner (or other family members) does not negate the real racist history and meaning behind long-standing symbols.
