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A food company publicly apologized after students at a school in upstate New York were served a racially insensitive lunch at the beginning of Black History Month.
According to reports, students at Nyack Middle School were served chicken and waffles with a side of watermelon last Wednesday (Feb. 1), the first day of Black History Month. The original menu offerings were supposed to be Philly cheesesteaks, broccoli and fresh fruit. Students including Honore Santiago spoke out about the meal. “I was questioning because they don’t usually give watermelon,” she said.
Principal David Johnson sent out a letter to parents apologizing for the situation. “I am disappointed that Aramark would serve items that differed from the published monthly menu, especially items that reinforce negative stereotypes concerning the African-American community,” the letter read.
Johnson called the menu items “insensitive.” He contacted the school’s food provider Aramark to voice his concern and to see if this situation can be avoided in the future. “If they had served chicken and waffles by itself, I don’t know that we would be having this conversation. But the moment you add in the watermelon, that changed the whole complexion, literally,” Wilbur Aldridge of the Nyack chapter of the NAACP said.
A spokesperson from Aramark released a statement, saying: “The situation at that middle school was our mistake and never should have happened. It stands in direct contrast to who we are as a company and our longstanding commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We have apologized for our mistake, and are working to determine how it happened and make sure it never happens again.”
The interim school superintendent, James Montesano, said that the company has committed to working with the school to have “workshops that are focused around the concept of equity and institutional racism,” involving their employees.
This wasn’t the first time that Aramark has wound up in a scandal along these lines. In 2018, students at New York University were served barbecued ribs, collard greens, cornbread, Kool-Aid and watermelon-flavored water during Black History Month. After a vocal backlash, the workers involved were fired and the company apologized. For Honore Santiago, she just has one thought about it all: “I just hope that they won’t do it again, at a different school or my school ever again.”
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The NYPD found itself in poor public light once again after an incident between an officer and a Black teenager was caught on video and went wide. The scuffle caught the attention of New York Mayor Eric Adams, who spoke out about the actions of the officer that was later suspended as an investigation was launched.
According to a report from NBC 4 New York, the unnamed NYPD officer was near Port Richmond High School and I.S. 5 and en route to detain a 14-year-old girl when the teen’s younger sister reportedly swung at the officer, prompting him to hit her back. The older sister also reportedly reached for the officer’s handcuffs and struck him as well.
More from NBC 4 New York:
The 14-year-old was arrested and the younger sister given a juvenile report for the alleged assault. Their mother is calling for a full investigation of what went down.
“They’re supposed to be protected by the police officers and I didn’t expect them to get hurt,” said Taneesha Robinson, who added that her daughter is doing better and “basically has a headache now.” Robinson said it’s not up to her if the officer should face further discipline.
As for the officer, who has been on the job for 14 years, he has been suspended, according to the NYPD, with an internal investigation underway into what led up to the encounter.
The NYPD said via its official Twitter account that the officers who were on the scene are under investigation by the Internal Affairs Bureau.
Mayor Adams addressed the incident during a press conference on Wednesday (Jan. 4) and said that bodycam footage will be reviewed by all the proper authorities.
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Photo: Anadolu Agency / Getty
Written By D.L. Chandler , Senior Editor Posted 31 mins ago @dlchandler123 D.L. Chandler is a veteran of the Washington D.C. metro writing scene, working as a journalist, reporter, and culture critic. Initially freelancing at iOne Digital in 2010, he officially joined the iOne team in 2017 where he currently works as a Senior Editor […]