Juneteenth is a newly instilled holiday put into place by President Joe Biden. Last Thursday, June 17, 2021, the President of the United States signed a law ‘decreeing Juneteenth a national holiday in which we will remember the ending of slavery in the U.S. In honor of the newly announced federal holiday, businesses across the country have been initiating gestures in order to celebrate.
Specifically, IKEA recently published a ‘special’ menu in regards to honoring Black Americans and the latest past holiday. Just before the day of celebration the company released an email to all of their employees along with the following statement, “Look out for a special menu on Saturday which will include: fried chicken, watermelon, mac n cheese, potato salad, collard greens, and candied yams.” Transparently using everlasting racial stereotypes, this email shocked almost everyone on the receiving end and eventually led to backfiring on the entire corporation.
Ever since employees publicized this email from one of the company’s Atlanta branches, the backlash has not let up. Residing anonymously, one specific employee made a very valid argument when they told a reporter, “You cannot say serving watermelon on Juneteenth is a soul food menu when you don’t even know the history, they used to feed slaves watermelon during the slave time.” This statement was a speck compared to what followed. Over 30 employees called out of work on Saturday, June 19, 2021, and made their thoughts known about the outrageous menu.
Inevitably, this spark of unsettledness reached the ears of the branch store manager, who in hopes of making amends sent out a second email expressing their apologies and ways the matter will be handled; “I truly apologize. The menu came off [offensive].” Shortly after, the ‘special’ menu was modified by adding items such as meatloaf, cornbread, and mashed potatoes.