Indianapolis Museum Called out for Selling ‘Juneteenth Watermelon Salad’

The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis is in hot water after serving a racially insensitive dish… specifically to commemorate Juneteenth.

Yes, this photo shows the watermelon salad sold in the cafeteria of the museum, and they are not even subtle about racism, as the label indicates… “Juneteenth Watermelon Salad”.

One ticked off customer’s reaction to the shocking menu item was, “No kidding!!!”

A museum representative defends the salad, saying its catering partners “planned a Juneteenth menu as a way for us to raise awareness of the meaning of the holidays and commemorate their own family traditions.”

Although this gives the impression that the food service company is black-owned, we have not yet been able to confirm this.

The representative also said that “red foods have always been served by some to remember the blood shed on the way to freedom.” We’ve never heard that one before, but okay.

They did, however, offer a mea culpa saying, “The museum apologizes and recognizes the negative impact stereotypes have on communities of color. We have removed salad from our menu. We value our relationship with all of our visitors and communities. We learned from this experience.”

The museum – which holds a “Juneteenth Jamboree” – correctly states on its website that Juneteenth is a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States, and is also referred to as Emancipation Day or Juneteenth Independence Day.