OK, the first task was to track down the provenance of the remark, and to
assess it.

As to the trope, yes, certainly. Prevalent, and both white & black
Southerners are righty seen as enjoying the taste of a good watermelon.
They are pretty wonderful things.

As to the "thieving" side of the trope: A hungry and oppressed people
sometimes breaks the rules (the rules being set and enforced by the
dominant group). I'd also lift a chicken that wasn't roosting comfortably,
myself, if I were hungry.

Javert <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000128/?ref_=tt_trv_qu>: Now Prisoner
24601, your time is up and your parole's begun. You know what that means?

Jean Valjean <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0413168/?ref_=tt_trv_qu>: Yes, it
means I'm free.

Javert <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000128/?ref_=tt_trv_qu>: No.

[hands him a yellow paper]

Javert <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000128/?ref_=tt_trv_qu>: Follow to the
letter your itinerary, this badge of shame you wear until you die. It warns
that you're a dangerous man.

Jean Valjean <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0413168/?ref_=tt_trv_qu>: I stole
a loaf of bread. My sisters child was close to death, and we were
starving...

Javert <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000128/?ref_=tt_trv_qu>: And you will
starve again unless you learn the meaning of the law!

Jean Valjean <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0413168/?ref_=tt_trv_qu>: I've
learnt the meaning of those nineteen years; a slave of the law.

Javert <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000128/?ref_=tt_trv_qu>: Five years
for what you did. The rest because you tried to run, yes 24601...

Jean Valjean <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0413168/?ref_=tt_trv_qu>: My name
is Jean Valjean!

Javert <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000128/?ref_=tt_trv_qu>: And I'm
Javert! Do not forget my name. Do not forget me, 24601.
-- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1707386/quotes




On Sun, Nov 25, 2018 at 11:46 AM William Robison <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> I am happy to report that among my students both racism and homophobia are
> disappearing. But when I was growing up, both the watermelon trope and the
> racist notion that African-Americans are thieves were alive and well. Damn
> near everyone in the South eats watermelon, regardless of gender,
> ethnicity, political persuasion, religious ideology, or sexual orientation.
> So where the trope came from is a mystery to me. But then so is the one
> about thievery.
>
> On Sun, Nov 25, 2018 at 10:26 AM Hal Bush <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > I'd mention that  it's interesting that Huck Finn "borrowed" melons too;
> > and that the cultural history of the watermelon trope is associated with
> > Jim Crow long before 1901:
> >
> >
> >
> >
> https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/how-watermelons-became-a-racist-trope/383529/
> >
> > [
> >
> https://cdn.theatlantic.com/assets/media/img/mt/2018/01/lead_large-4/facebook.jpg?1522683760
> > ]<
> >
> https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/how-watermelons-became-a-racist-trope/383529/
> > >
> >
> > How Watermelons Became a Racist Trope - The Atlantic<
> >
> https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/how-watermelons-became-a-racist-trope/383529/
> > >
> > www.theatlantic.com
> > While mainstream-media figures deride these instances of racism, or at
> > least racial insensitivity, another conversation takes place on Twitter
> > feeds and comment boards: What, many ask, does a ...
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Dr. Hal Bush
> >
> > Dept. of English
> >
> > Saint Louis University
> >
> > [log in to unmask]
> >
> > 314-977-3616
> >
> > http://halbush.com
> >
> > author website:  halbush.com
> >
> > ________________________________
> > From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of James N. Powell <
> > [log in to unmask]>
> > Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2018 10:11:37 AM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: Clemens and persistent racism?
> >
> > 我園の真桑も盗むこころ哉
> > wagasono no makuwa mo nusumu kokoro kana
> >
> > Even in my own field,
> > I pick a melon
> > As if stealing.
> >
> >                 ~ Buson
> >
> > Tr. Shoji Kumano
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Dave Davis
> > Sent: Sunday, November 25, 2018 7:08 AM
> > To: [log in to unmask]
> > Subject: Re: Clemens and persistent racism?
> >
> > Wiser heads will know more, but that sounds to me more like the voice of
> > Paine than the voice of Twain. Are the narratives quoted found in the
> > Autobiography (the full dictations, which have recently been published)?
> >
> > DDD
> >
> >
> >
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__ebooks.adelaide.edu.au_t_twain_mark_paine_chapter214.html&d=DwIFaQ&c=Pk_HpaIpE_jAoEC9PLIWoQ&r=f7i-Uq4rMQU8-TBe45qVLg&m=O_q9Ul57LFXCfZatvQF5i636yefdbwZVbEeDnYRjwKI&s=iWIHIGKB2n7u8ZpXmsJ12yGKqCfSHnjHKZA48VN6WzQ&e=
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Nov 24, 2018 at 6:14 PM John Greenman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >
> > > from “the watermelons” (which Paine quotes in chapter CCXIV. MARK
> > > TWAIN AND THE MISSIONARIES in his Biography) Clemens says:
> > > “...This was down South, in the slavery days. It was the nature of the
> > > negro then, as now, to steal watermelons…."
> > >
> > > Question: have y’all concluded that this 1901 concept accurately
> > > reflects Clemens’ racial feelings are was there some other reason for
> > his wording??
> > >
> > > thanks,
> > >
> > > -j
> > >
> > > +++++++++++++++
> > > Coincidence is a messenger
> > > sent by Truth
> > >
> > > [log in to unmask]
> > >
> > > Mark Twain Audiobooks from Librivox
> > >
> > > My Mark Twain audio recordings at Archive.org
> > >
> >
>
>
> --
> William B. Robison, PhD
> Department Head / Professor of History
> Department of History and Political Science
> Southeastern Louisiana University
> SLU 10895
> Hammond LA 70402
> 985-549-2109 phone
> 985-549-2012 fax
> [log in to unmask]
> http://www.selu.edu/acad_research/depts/hist_ps/index.html
> http://www.tudorsonfilm.com/
> http://www.impairedfaculties.com/
>
> History teaches students to read intelligently, think analytically, write
> clearly, accurately assess past trends, rationally predict future
> developments, and understand the real world. Now *that* is workforce-ready!
>
> History does offer us very real lessons, but they are seldom simple and
> straightforward. To understand and benefit from them, you have to know your
> history very well. That is why history matters as much as math, science,
> technology, or any other subject.
>
> "A young horse is fast, but an old horse knows what's going on." – Muddy
> Waters
>