Since the plots they were given were of marginal quality, slaves raised crops in them that weren't so demanding. Watermelon was an important crop grown by slaves whose masters let them have a garden plot. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.ĭivorced from history the relationship between African-Americans and watermelon can be mocked as a fetish, but watermelon provides many benefits as a filtered water and nutrients that stave off illnesses, some that blacks have historically suffered more than people of other ancestral histories, like glaucoma, and more. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture a textbook about gender and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University.
Still, the fact that the tune is an ice cream truck classic reveals how our racist history is still part and parcel of our everyday lives. I also don’t know if the tune was also set to other lyrics that were or weren’t racist. But I could find little contextualizing information. Instead, it’s an earnest, intended-to-be-humorous song meant to make fun of Black people. It seems clear that it’s not an inside joke between Black people, making fun of the stereotype. Googling around, I learned almost nothing about the song. They didn’t need the complicated responsibilities of freedom they just needed some shade and a cool, delicious treat. African Americans, the argument went, were happy as slaves. …defenders of slavery used the watermelon as a symbol of simplicity. Have a listen.ĭuring slavery, the African population’s supposed taste for watermelon was used to suggest that they were stupid. Here’s a random creepy fact: one of the tunes that float out of ice cream trucks all summer is a racist song called “Nigger Love a Watermelon Ha! Ha! Ha!,” first recorded 1916 or before.
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