The Racist, Not-So-Sweet Origins Of The Ice Cream Song
Black History Year
PushBlack
4.6 • 2.2K Ratings
🗓️ 17 January 2025
⏱️ 3 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
Sometimes, it feels like everything is racist, and this one might take the cake. For most, this famous song sparks sweet nostalgic joy of happy childhood summers. However, its origins are rotten as Hell.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Sometimes it feels like everything is racist, and this one might take the cake. |
| 0:05.0 | For most, this famous song sparks sweet nostalgic joy of happy childhood summers. |
| 0:11.0 | However, its origins are rotten as hell. |
| 0:15.0 | This is two-minute black history, what you didn't Learn in School. |
| 0:30.6 | Is everything racist? |
| 0:31.6 | How could something as simple as the ice cream truck be racist. Many things are racist. White supremacy has |
| 0:40.6 | intentionally designed it this way. And the ice cream truck tune we've all heard humming |
| 0:46.2 | through our neighborhoods for decades is no different. The ever-recognizable jingle Many Trucks Play is from a song called, |
| 0:58.1 | Nigger Love a Watermelon, Ha, ha, ha, written by actor Harry C. Brown. |
| 1:05.5 | He hated our people. |
| 1:07.6 | The song played into infamous menstrual era stereotypes of us mindlessly and greedily, |
| 1:14.5 | devouring what some called the black man's ice cream watermelon. |
| 1:20.4 | It's stupid, but there is a much deeper lesson here. |
| 1:24.3 | In 2020, Wu Tang's Rizza reimagined the ice cream truck jingle in partnership with good humor. |
| 1:32.3 | This song isn't the end of the world, but it reminds us to take note of the seemingly innocent ways racism rears its ugly roots. |
| 1:42.3 | We should consider how white supremacy is snaking its way through the most critical parts of |
| 1:49.0 | our lives, within systems like education, medical, criminal legal, and housing. |
| 1:56.0 | They've ingrained white supremacy into society, hoping we'd never notice or question how it's sprinkled throughout our everyday lives. |
| 2:05.6 | We can continue minding our black-ass business, reimagining the world, uplifting our communities, and enjoying life's sweetest and simplest joys at the same time. |
| 2:18.9 | In order to move towards the future, you've got to look to the past. |
| 2:24.2 | This has been Two-Minute Black History, a podcast by Push Black. |
| 2:28.4 | Show your support by sharing this episode on your social media |
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