"DETROIT, MI -- A "bad call," "racially insensitive," "ignorant" and a "joke gone bad" are some of the social media reactions offered after a probationary Detroit firefighter was fired for bringing the gift of a watermelon adorned with a pink bow to his new firehouse in west Detroit."

"It's tradition for new firefighters to come bearing gifts when they are stationed in a new firehouse, but this firefighter's decision to bring a watermelon to a predominantly black firehouse struck some as a potentially racist move."

"The watermelon has been attributed to demeaning stereotypes connected with black culture."


http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/in...atermelon.html