Aeja Monet
Jul 25, 2017 · 5 min read

SUN SALUTATIONS a collective book includes McDonalds, a conversation transcription by Aeja Monet (21) and her Popop, Codozer (76) talking along themes of 1950’s segregation and customer service towards Black people. Scannings and transcription below

McDonalds TRANSCRIPTION

The kitchen is where we do most of our talking. Over grandma’s food, the TV on a volume that’s too loud, faucet water hitting dirty dishes, today’s mail, the sun poured on the table, we meet here. The orange bench seating is usually for me while Popop sits in his seat. Ceramic white oval shapes support his back and a seat cushion that ends up on the floor whenever he’s not trapped it under him. He pulls his tummy close to the table and brings his left hand to rest on the inner angle of his right. He will leave this position to paint his words with his fingertips, but always returns to folding himself. I fold my knees to my chest and follow his eyes sparkling against his deeply melenated skin, his smile balls his cheeks and raises his eyebrows.

Popop is in the middle of retelling me his experience with McDonalds and the customer service towards Black people in Florida, late 1950s. Popop juggles between speaking directly to me, roleplaying as White people and speaking to White people by using present tense pronouns. All revealing his skepticism regarding the echoing superiority complexes of harmful White people along with his own longing for answers to questions he’s not asked White people.


POPOP: What could we have done? Jus think about it-what could we have done that woulda been ended up bein’ funny. Now the point is, you’re Black and I’m White so I’m telling you, you can’t be served here…at the front. So you have to go to the back, over there back behind the stow (store, McDonalds). So you place your order over there and when your order is ready we’ll bring it, we’ll deliver it to you, to the back. Right?

AEJA: Mhm (encouraging nods so he continues)

POPOP: OK. So what could I have done to make it funny?

AEJA: You left.

POPOP: Aaaahhhh, you know the story.

AEJA: Yeah, I just don’t remember the details.

POPOP: If I left what did I do?

AEJA: You made them make that food-

POPOP: Mhhmm, an I left right? But wasn’t it funny?

AEJA: Did you pay for it?

POPOP: No.

AEJA: They don’t make you pay before?

POPOP: How can you pay if you go in the back and order?

AEJA: So how are you supposed to pay?

POPOP: You supposed to pay when they bring it to you in the back. So any orders with the Blacks was done back there.

AEJA: How’d you feel after?

POPOP: We went away and laughed about it, amongst ourselves. Cause we knew eventually they were gonna bring that food back there and then guess what? (Popop’s grinning, waiting for me to finish his sentence, but I don’t. I want him to.) Nobody was gonna be there.

AEJA AND POPOP: Laughing

POPOP: Is that a way to get ‘em back? Make up all those things, and then nobody’s there to get. (Laughs) Who’s the smart one? (Both Laughing) Tell me Aeja, who’s the smart one?

While smirking

AEJA: Youuuu

POPOP: So what they-so what they gonna do? There’s no more Blacks around there a-asking for orders. You see that once you leave, there’s no Blacks there to receive those orders. So who’s gonna receive those orders?

AEJA: The White people.

Dragging out each word

POPOP: There yah go…there yah go. So who’s the smart one?

AEJA: You aaare.

POPOP: You made it for Blacks, and Whites ah eatin’ it!

Popop starts laughing, as the memory plays for him I see the sadness and delight in his eyes. That the sparkle may be tears this time.

POPOP: That’s what you have to do sometimes, you see. They’re cruel, they cruel people. White people are somethin’ else. They think they own everything. They think-they think “You don’t own nothin’, you shouldn’t even be here”. Aint that turrble? How can you feel that way about another human bein’?

AEJA: When did you come to noticing that about them? Did you know when you were three years old? Did you know when you were five, six, seven, eight?

POPOP: Oh it’s been like that. I grew up, from a kid I grew up like that. Anytime I had to uhm… communicate with the White people it was always-it was always a chore. Ya know? Wasn’t a common place thing. Wuss always a chore. An was something you didn’t always WUNT to do, (dragging out each word) You jus did it. Becass that was survival.

AEJA: Why did-

POPOP: See you have no idea. You can kind af visualize the feeling and all kinda like that. Butchu-you never went through.

AEJA: Nuh uh.

POPOP: I went through with that. Now you see, now you see what I was tryina prove.

AEJA: That’s why I’m askin’ you.

POPOP: That’s why I’m tellin’

AEJA AND POPOP: Laughing

AEJA: How was it a chore? (Wanting to hear it in his own words)

POPOP: Itsa chore, yeauh it’s a chore. You tryina…tryina decide whether or not you wanna say anything to them or not. That’s what I’m sayins a chore, itsa chore within you. Younom sayin?

AEJA: Mhm.

POPOP: Why’s he think he’s better than me? (High pitched towards the end of each sentence) Who the heck he think he is that I-that I gotta…you know…What makes you better than me? I’m a human bein jus like you. Why do you have to be like this? What’s the big deal? The chore was within yourself. See it was easy for them “pewww!” thangs jus roll right out of them. Black people, thangs didn’t jus roll out of them. (Slowly) They-they had da get it within themselves to say. But when they say it they meant it, whether it was good or bad. Black people couldn’t just come out and say things like that, they had ta always…decide what they’re gonna say and present it the way they want. White people didn’t have to, if you’re up top you don’t care how you present it to the pe-person below jus “Take it or leave it”. Younom sayin?

Popop points at my black face, like “I know you know what I’m sayin’”.

And you didn’t put yourself at this level it’s the-it’s the level they want to project you in. That’s the thing, that’s the bad part about it.

    Aeja Monet

    Written by

    instagram.com/aejamonet

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