A Spectrum call center in Charlotte, North Carolina served fried chicken and watermelon to employees for Juneteenth.
Junteenth is a Texas holiday that became a federal holiday on June 17, 2021. The holiday is celebrated annually on June 19 by Southerners to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States.
According to The North Carolina Beat, employees were served 2 pieces of fried chicken and a slice of watermelon on a paper plate.
READ ALSO: School Apologizes for Serving Fried Chicken and Watermelon for Black History Month
When Spectrum’s Juneteenth meal went viral on social media, Spectrum VP, Marco Pezzuto, emailed a letter to the employees.
In the letter, Pezzuto said, “We want to acknowledge some feedback received regarding our Juneteenth celebration. Although our intent was to celebrate this nationally recognized day, some of you voiced your concerns regarding the associated food choices.”
Mr. Pezzuto extended an invitation to employees to “voice concerns to our leadership team directly.”
However, one employee chastised The North Carolina Beat‘s owner, Gerald, for his “biased” and “comical” reporting.
The worker wrote: “This entire damn article is biased and comical. On Juneteenth most Spectrum call centers celebrate with a potluck. Ours had fried chicken, pulled pork, hot dogs, hamburgers, lasagna and a ton of sides. The only thing more filtered than this article are the filters Gerald uses on his insta!”