Two African American [race actually not confirmed] cooks working for Aramark at NYU have been fired by the food service after preparing a meal during Black History Month that was deemed "racially insensitive."

According to CBS News, the two cooks were fired as a result of a complaint by a sophomore, who says she confronted the head cook about the "racially insensitive" meal but was "lied to" and ultimately "ignored." The meal, the student claimed in a Facebook post, consisted of barbecue ribs, collard greens, watermelon-flavored water, Kool-Aid, and mac and cheese.

"Sophomore Nia Harris, who is black, said the head cook dismissed her objections and told her black employees planned the menu," reports CBS News. "She posted about the menu and her experience on Facebook, saying she 'was lied to, placated, and ignored.'"

"This is what it's like to be a black student at New York University," Nia wrote in her Facebook post. "You go to a dining hall during February and you see 'Black History Month Meal' plastered outside the entrance. You walk inside the dining hall only to find ribs, collard greens, and mac and cheese.

"In 2018 I literally had to explain why displaying watermelon and koolaid in celebration of Black History Month was not only racially insensitive but just ignorant."

n response to the student's public condemnation of the meal, Aramark issued a statement apologizing and announcing that they fired the employees responsible for the "independent" decision to put together the menu. Here's the full statement:

We have zero tolerance for any employee who does not adhere to our values or contradicts our longstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. Employees at NYU who acted independently and did not follow our approved plan for the celebration of Black History Month have been terminated and are no longer with the company. We are extremely disappointed by this regrettable situation and apologize to the entire NYU community and communities everywhere for their insensitive and offensive actions. We are re-training all our NYU campus employees to ensure an incident like this is not repeated.

The incident also prompted a public apology from NYU President Andrew Hamilton, who said the menu was "inexcusably insensitive." Here is Hamilton's full statement, which includes another statement from Aramark saying they had suspended the director of Weinstein dining for "insensitive and offensive actions":

We were shocked to learn of the drink and food choices that our food service provider -- Aramark -- offered at the Weinstein dining hall as part of Black History Month. It was inexcusably insensitive. That error was compounded by the insensitivity of the replies made to a student who asked Aramark staff on site how the choices were made.

In response, Aramark has suspended the director of Weinstein dining, is investigating how this happened, will be putting in place sensitivity training for staff, and has rightly issued an apology:

"We apologize for an inexcusable menu mistake that occurred at Downstein. We are extremely disappointed by the insensitive and offensive actions taken by one of our employees who did not follow policy and processes. The individual acted independently in a way that runs counter to our values and compromised our longstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. We have suspended the employee pending a full investigation. We are also re-training all employees to ensure a regrettable incident like this is not repeated. Again, we apologize for the mistake and commit to do better in the future." -- Victoria Pasquale, Regional Vice President, Aramark

We are grateful to the students who brought this to the attention of the University. We are extremely dissatisfied with Aramark's actions in this instance. The drink and food choices for this meal were not discussed with NYU beforehand. NYU's dining administrators will insist that Aramark put in place a mechanism to avoid a repeat of yesterday's episode, such as consulting the existing student advisory body and campus cultural groups about the menu for special events.

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Over-reactions everywhere. I thought the Kool-aid was a great comedic touch. People need to lighten the F up.

FYI I read several news stories on this and nowhere is the race of the cooks stated. It would be ironic, if true... but there is no corroboration to be found.

When did good old soul food become offensive?

I would have asked for double helpings.

What the flying fuck?

So for the whole month of February, people can't eat "black people food"?

Who the hell doesn't like ribs, greens and mac n' cheese? Those foods are very popular in the south. Mac n' cheese is very popular among kids from all over.

Dumb fucks are looking for reasons to be offended.

I also blame the university and the food service company for overreacting. Totally ridiculous. I hope those two end up finding better jobs very soon and share this story. I hope that "student" is crucified and never finds gainful employment.

Good grief, that was an excellent meal. This can't possibly be sustainable.

quote:

Originally posted by reloader-1:
FYI I read several news stories on this and nowhere is the race of the cooks stated. It would be ironic, if true... but there is no corroboration to be found.

Thank you for pointing this out. The head cook claimed the menu planners were black, but that's unconfirmed. I edited the title and lead sentence.

Being white, am I allowed to eat these things in front of my black friends?
Also, I'm a Yank, so no collar greens will be involved, if that matters.

I was raised in the North, and am White, and I like collard greens! I think that was a fine meal, and the person who complained should be forced to eat it without speaking.

flashguy

Unless the food was spat upon, I think the menu was made with good intentions.

The only thing I would consider tacky and I sometimes suggest it as a joke is when people from other countries visit me and I offer to take them here in the US to a restaurant of their country.

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...530011834#6530011834

Had no idea. DQ'd due to ambiguous thread title.

Of course those cooks should have been fired.

They did not include fried chicken.

---

A reminder to any student who does not like the menu selection: You are in New York. There are few, if any, cities in the world that offer a more diverse selection of food. If you don't like what's on the menu at one place, you don't have to go very far to find a lot of different choices. When I worked in the city, I frequently enjoyed what I called "sidewalk lunches." Vendors with carts, offering many choices.

But no, snowflake has to make a fuss and get people fired for being a little creative. I hope that this sticks with her and any potential employers in her future consider this, and ask themselves: "Do we really want to hire a trouble-making rabble rouser?"

I had the same meal here in the South just yesterday, plus fried okra catfish and chicken. Pepper sauce must be served with greens. Watermelon is out of season or it would have been on the buffet. I am highly offended that my cuisine has been labeled racist. Where do I complain?

quote:

Originally posted by rusbro:

quote:

Originally posted by JALLEN:
https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...530011834#6530011834

Had no idea. DQ'd due to ambiguous thread title.

Oy! I missed the other one at first, too.

How many times do we have to be told that the title needs to be informative about the thread contents? Title of this thread is good. Title of other thread, "Snowflakes on the March," is certainly true, but gives us nary a clue what the thread is about.

quote:

Two African American [race actually not confirmed] cooks

Kind of irrelevant don't you think.
Did they identify as African Americans?

It's all about how you feel, we can be anything we want.

Sounds like a great meal! I don't understand the problem.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
Of course those cooks should have been fired.

They did not include fried chicken.

First thing that I thought.

quote:

Originally posted by DLC762:

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
Of course those cooks should have been fired.

They did not include fried chicken.

First thing that I thought.

LOL!!

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
When did good old soul food become offensive?

I would have asked for double helpings.

ditto,

I can think of a dozen or so local places that I could walk into and get a similar meal today,

minus the watermelon koolaid,,,,
menu should have had sweet tea on it

I had a meal that I will never forget. I had planned a trip from home near the Orlando FL area to eastern Ohio for a visit with the kids / grandkids. My autopilot had been acting up and the avionics shop at Lowe Aviation at the Macon GA airport had a good reputation for working with Century autopilots, so I made an appointment to stop in on my way to Ohio.

The shop guy said it would probably take about an hour to diagnose the problem and suggested that I go grab some lunch. The gals at the front counter offered the use of a courtesy car and showed me a list of restaurants in the area, or said if I wanted some "real good home cooking" I could walk over to the passenger terminal where two black ladies had a lunch counter.

I walked over, gave the ladies a ten dollar bill, and got a platter of fried chicken, vegetables, a large portion of peach cobbler, and enough iced tea for a Sahara crossing. Also got a bunch of change back from the $10.00.

Everything was fresh, home made, and absolutely fantastic. I salivate every time I think of that meal. It should be served every day during Black History month, and offered on every day that is in any calendar month.