HOW AND WHY WATERMELON BECAME A RACIST WEAPON

During the heat of Summer, do you savor pieces of juicy, red pieces of watermelon? Be honest. I would wager that when it’s perfectly ripe, and you taste it, it is so delightful, that you even close your eyes with gratitude. It really is the perfect food.  THE ORIGINS OF WATERMELON   Although stereotypes about the fruit are primarily associated with the American South and Black American culture, the fruit's vines stem all the way to the African continent. Watermelon has been grown since prehistoric times and has been known worldwide for centuries and centuries. Archaeological evidence shows the Egyptians, Sudanese, Ethiopians, Libyans, and Kenyans were cultivating watermelon almost 6,000 years ago. Watermelon appears in Ancient Egyptian painted limestone reliefs dating from ancient Egypt; its seeds and leaves have been found in Egyptian tombs.   Enjoyed by royalty like the Egyptian King Tutankhamen, watermelon soon made it to Rome and Greece, later becoming cultivated in...