We can't actually have a discussion on "racism" and "political correctness" until you stop being politically correct. Your post embodies what political correctness
actually stands for which is the dismissal of discussion and criticism in favor of a standard
political opinion about the nonexistence of X-topic. Remember, political correctness as a term was meant to be a criticism of Communist tendencies to outright refuse changing stances on a topic that would be in conflict with their party politics. In short, you're basically saying that the people who want to discuss the documented and relevant links between food and race are the bad guys in the story. The people who want to act as if it's not relevant and shouldn't be discussed? They are the good guys. Your post is the only politically correct thing here.
In short, your naive views on racism as it currently exists and dismissal of its relevance
is politically correct. Your complete refusal to debate it because it goes contrary to the image you're trying to craft of American society
is politically correct. Racism in America, current and past has been thrown in the back of the bus in order to make room for
politically correct ideas of racial integration. Past insults and current grievances have been dismissed in favor of a
progressive belief that it no longer exists and it's irrelevant today. Nonsense, it existed in the past, exists in the present and will in the future and until an actual discussion is held on the matter it will continue to be a sore issue for many people of many colors and ancestries.
To go back to the topic: What is being discussed is not that the food itself was racist - but that it was being tied to a people's history. Which then raises a few questions what kind of role did chicken and watermelon play in black history? Was it regularly used to smuggle slaves out of the South? Did it play any important role in the history of blacks? It didn't. It's a cultural food that everyone seems to like. However, as stated earlier, not everyone would be attacked for liking it. Whites don't get attacked for eating watermelon. Asians don't either. They get attacked for other issues which are respectively sensitive to
their groups.
It's not for nothing that the Irish get a little annoyed when others try and celebrate Irish history with alcohol. It's not that the celebration itself is racist. It's not mentioning that they like it that is racist. It's the natural sensitivity that comes from the way the food has been used by
others when referring to the group.