National Book Award Winner Responds To Daniel Handler’s Racist joke

National Book Award winner Jacqueline Woodson responded to Daniel Handler’s(Lemony Snicket) racist watermelon joke. Handler had made offhanded comments about Woodson being allergic to watermelon while hosting the National Book Awards on Nov. 19. Woodson was accepting an award in the young adult category for her latest book, “Brown Girl Dreaming.” Handler has since apologized and donated $110,000 to the grassroots organization We Need Diverse Books while Woodson issued an indirect statement through her publisher.

Woodson responded with a essay titled “The Pain of the Watermelon Joke.” Woodson explores her own background and the evolution of her understanding of the racially charged significance of the watermelon. Woodson said that by the time she was 11 years old, the fruit had become repulsive to her.

“By making light of that deep and troubled history, he showed that he believed we were at a point where we could laugh about it all. His historical context, unlike my own, came from a place of ignorance,” Woodson writes.

Woodson uses the essay to re-frame the situation by focusing on positive change in a time even though there is a  lack of diverse voices in literature.

One cup of watermelon will provide 17% of vitamin A, 21% of vitamin C, 2% of iron and 1% of calcium needs for the day.

Watermelon also contains thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-6, folate, pantothenic acid, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, choline, lycopene and betaine. According to the National Watermelon Promotion Board, watermelon contains more lycopene than any other fruit or vegetable.

Despite being a great source of the above nutrients, watermelon is made up of 92% water.