White House Watermelon Email From California Mayor Dean Grose Inspires Outrage

The mayor of Los Alamitos is coming under fire for an e-mail he sent out that depicts the White House lawn planted with watermelons, under the title "No Easter egg hunt this year."

Local businesswoman and city volunteer Keyanus Price, who is black, said Tuesday she received the e-mail from Mayor Dean Grose's personal account on Sunday and wants a public apology.

"I have had plenty of my share of chicken and watermelon and all those kinds of jokes," Price told The Associated Press. "I honestly don't even understand where he was coming from, sending this to me. As a black person receiving something like this from the city-freakin'-mayor - come on."

The Orange County Register first reported the e-mail on its Web site Tuesday night.

Grose confirmed to the AP that he sent the e-mail to Price and said he didn't mean to offend her. He said he was unaware of the racial stereotype that black people like watermelons.

He said he and Price are friends and serve together on a community youth board.

"Bottom line is, we laugh at things and I didn't see this in the same light that she did," Grose told the AP. "I'm sorry. It wasn't sent to offend her personally - or anyone - from the standpoint of the African-American race."

Grose, who became mayor in December, said he sent an apology e-mail to Price and her boss and also left her a voicemail apology.

Regardless, Price said it will be difficult for the two to work together.

"Now I am like - wow, is this really how he feels?" Price said.

Los Alamitos is a 2¼-square-mile Orange County city of around 12,000 people. The mayor is elected by fellow members of the five-seat City Council.

Comments

[ImOuttaHere2008]

In the email entitled "No Easter Egg Hunt This Year" the (ex)mayor wrote "The way things are today, you gotta laught every now and then. I wanna see the coloring contests." Here's my entry: Invert the image, turning the white house black and the body snatcher pods (reference Invasion of the Body Snatchers movie) on the lawn into patriots who will actually spend a little money on infrastructure here rather than cutting taxes to prop up the Asian economies.

[Sandra Brown]

I think bunnyfoofoo is owed an apology........

[larryepke]

"He said he was unaware of the racial stereotype that black people like watermelons."

That's such an obvious, BAD lie. Without the racial stereotype of the watermelon, the cartoon makes on sense. Why would even a dunce like Grose send it if it wasn't funny?

[bowlingqueen]

I have a simple question: If he did not know that watermelon jokes to Black/African Americans were offensive, then why did he choose watermelons vs. for example, basketballs? Everyone knows President Obama is an avid basketball player.

[likeitisman]

This is a classic example of when people forget or don't care about history, we're doomed to repeat it. It's obvious from reading certain posts that people don't understand, know or are ignorant of the significance of this cartoon. Watermelons were frequently used in "satirical" Minstrel shows in which characters performed in "blackface" and mimicked, undermined and degraded African-Americans. These characters often played bellhops, maids, train conducters, and other stereotypical caricatures of black people.

[recoveringrightwinger]

The mayor's underlying current of racism couldn't be contained any longer. It is sad that he felt he had to go this far-had to put a family down.

[mathme]

So we either assume that the mayor is Racist or a complete ignoramus and 100% socially unaware. He was between a rock and a stupid place.

[hjsung]

i dont understand why the stereotype that blacks like watermelon is necessarily racist. it's not demeaning or discriminating. i mean, there are books like stuff white people like. arent jokes evidence of true tolerance??

[returnofthejedi]

Nothing wrong with jokes in good humor............this was not good humor.

[TheOuroborus]

These things always come with a follow up apology knowing full well that the intended visual effect is already "out there" on the net. Too bad the apologies never come with actual repercussions such as losing a public position, fines, or jail time.

[charlesduran]

I voted for Obama and believe he will be an excellent president and I thought the card was very funny and so would Obama. Michelle, well, she might have a little problem with it. Charles

[MANK]

I bet he would even share it with his kids it is SOO funny! NOT!

[butters2004]

If I had received that e-mail, I'd have promptly replied with a message: "Isn't it great that our President is utilizing the beautiful (but unproductive) WH garden to grow food during these hard economic times? I'm so proud I voted for him."

FYI, I have a biracial family and we have been exposed to racial stereotypes, etc. more than I care to remember. In such circumstances, expressing anger actually makes the bigot feel more powerful. Witty comebacks help to reclaim power without losing your cool. Just a thought.

[Realness]

This is just a reminder that the need for education on racism is not over. The world has not taken this seriously mainly because it happens to "minorities".

For an elected official to have the nerve to send this out speaks volumes to the audacity of racists people. He really thought he would get away with this that is why he sent it out.

[humanfilter]

the Orange County area is scary, Huntington Beach once had a large swastika on a billboard 'grafitti'd'
but it 'managed' to stay up for a long time before they removed it.

[Sabba]

I love how some people want to try to draw a correlation between this and the "jokes" people made about Bush or any of our former presidents.

They claim that "blacks and latinos can make racist jokes with no repercussions". Only, no one made RACIST jokes about Bush. At least no public officials, and certainly not any that were black or latino. Even if they did, they didn't send these "jokes" to people they would offend or we'd have heard about it.

The "monkey" cartoon from the NYP a pass because, yes it COULD be racist but the joke about "so bad it's as if it were written by monkeys", and "monkeys with typewriters" has been around for a long long time without any racial connotation.

This however, is nothing short of racist.

Dean should be willing, before even being asked to make a public apology whether or not anyone will accept it. It would be the right thing to do.

I know it drives the racists loony that we have an African American President. And THAT makes me laugh.

[jeremyemilio]

See, I agree with you fully. I think the NYP cartoon was racially insensitive in the sense that someone, at some point should have figured it could be interpreted as a racial slur against Obama, but I didn't read it as being overtly, or intentionally racist because it makes sense even if race is left out of the equation (although I got a lot of flack on here for explaining my position).

This "joke," as you point out, is different in that it makes no sense whatsoever in any other context than a racial one. For him to say he didn't understand the racist undertones (overtones really) of the image strikes me as ridiculous. What, then did he think was the "punch line"?

[landsoflincoln]

It never ceases to amaze me how an elected representative's profound ignorance and fundamental lack of judgement can destroy their integrity and public standing in an instant. (see Grose, Blagovocich, et al)