Denver Public School officials were drenched in shame after withstanding a downpour of criticism for serving fried chicken and collard greens in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s holiday.
School spokesperson Michael Vaughn said they originally wanted to offer a “Southern-style” menu to the students to help commemorate the annual birthday of the legendary civil rights leader. They quickly pulled the menu after receiving a torrent of irate responses from students’ parents who claimed the lunch is an offensive caricature of black culture.
You could almost hear some parents screaming: “What’s next? Watermelon for desert and wash it down with grape Kool-Aid?”
“The meal was highly insensitive in light of certain hurtful cultural stereotypes still harbored in parts of our society,” Vaughn said. He also reiterated that it was nevertheless important to honor MLK for his invaluable contributions to society.
“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the greatest leaders and civil rights heroes in our country’s history,” Vaughn said. “We are working with all of our schools to ensure that our students appreciate the enduring legacy of Dr. King’s work and life and the extraordinary importance of his message in our community today.”
Some blacks, including school board president, Nate Easley Jr., said the uproar over a school lunch is a case of misplaced energy, especially in light of the myriad problems blacks face. “I don’t think people woke up in the morning and said how can we offend people,” he told the Denver Post. “As a black man, the things that offend me more are how we are doing with kids in the district. It’s not having kids graduating and doing well. The outcomes of the district are more offensive to me than someone trying to do the right thing and being offensive.”
Easley added that if King were alive today, “I think he would be more concerned about our outcomes of our students than what they are eating to honor him.” –terry shropshire
