There are certain laws that apply to public health -- and when a community group is giving out food in a manner that violates the rules, it should be shut down. Last year there was a food poisoning outbreak in Odessa when the rules weren't enforced, but there is an even bigger uproar now that they are being enforced.

Leaders of the Black Cultural Council say volunteers and the black community felt "humiliated" after two health department food inspectors threatened to put a stop to a Juneteenth celebration over questions about food preparation for 600 free barbecue sandwiches.

Council President Jo Ann Davenport-Littleton said health inspectors told them it was illegal for the group to serve the sandwiches because they were not prepared at the site where they were served.

Gino Solla, the county's top health official, said state law prohibits any food service operation from having food prepared in a private home for public consumption.

"I hate that it happened," Davenport-Littleton said in a story for today's edition of the Odessa American. "I wanted people to go away talking about how great the celebration was this year. All you heard was 'They were going to deny us barbecue. Here we are in modern-day slavery again.' "

I wonder what Jo Ann Davenport-Littlebrain would have said if she and the folks she were feeding got a little modern-day food poisoning?

My guess is Davenport-Littlebrain would be complaining that the health inspectors didn't enforce state health regulations -- based upon their racism, of course.

And when Davenport-Littlebrain and her group got sued and faced a big damage award to those made ill by the tainted food, she would probably argue that the equal application of the law was another case of modern-day slavery.

In other words, Davenport-Littlebrain is part of a long line of grievance-mongers, poverty-pimps, and race-hos who insist upon making even the most neutral of actions an example of insidious racism.

More at Urban Grounds, Malkin.