IKEA triggers outrage with plan to sell fried chicken and watermelon on Juneteenth

On Tuesday, CBS 46 reported that an IKEA furniture store in Atlanta, Georgia triggered outrage with a plan to sell special menu items on Juneteenth: fried chicken and watermelon.

"A Juneteenth menu is serving up controversy at the Atlanta-based IKEA store, after employees said fried chicken and watermelon, were just a some items selected to honor Juneteenth," reported Tori Cooper. "CBS46 Tori Cooper spoke to IKEA employees and customers about the menu Monday. The employees we spoke to did not want to go on camera over fear of repercussions, but they said that management needs to do more to educate themselves on black culture moving forward."

Management reportedly said the menu was meant to "honor and persevere Black Americans," but employees felt differently, with one saying, "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."

According to the report, the store changed the menu following blowback, and it will now serve "collard greens, cornbread, mashed potatoes and meatloaf."

Juneteenth, which was officially proclaimed a national holiday this year for the first time by an act of Congress, commemorates the day that the final enslaved persons in Texas were notified by federal authorities that slavery had ended.