there are some things black people just can’t do or say around white people.
one of those things is referencing or being seen eating fried chicken.
in an often feeble attempt to counter stereotypes, black people, particularly in corporate america, do their best to distance themselves from anything that has ever been perceived as being stereotypically “black” in behavior or condition. this includes, but is not limited to, eating fried chicken, eating watermelon, listening to rap music, using slang, speaking loudly while on the phone and not knowing your father.
let me only speak for myself here. i feel that these stereotypical beliefs are pervasive. and i know some will respond to this with “don’t worry about what white folks think”. but i have a vested interest in how the majority of my co-workers, who happen to be white, view me.
for one thing, their opinion of me can influence my career. and while i won’t tap dance for dollars, i certainly won’t let a perceived act of baffoonery stop me from making more $$$.
second, as one of only a few black women in this company and in almost any professional setting i’ve been in, i see myself as a representative and even ambassador of black people, women and the cross section of the two.
as such, i feel the best way to dispel a myth is to confront it head on with a real life example of truth. you think all black women wear a weave? nope, not me. you think we all have kids and baby daddy drama? wrong again. uneducated? loud? lazy? sorry to disappoint you.
so, when a small group at work met to discuss trends in advertising, i approached it like i do everything else. i went prepared with my research and ready to contribute.
the discussion eventually led to food chains. a rather safe subject, one would think. one person mentioned a pizza chain having success with pineapple as a topping in a particular market. another person chimed in with how the mcrib is only sold in certain parts of the country. it was at this point that i made a fatal error in judgement. the discussion made me think of some fried chicken i had gotten from a wendy’s in maryland a few years ago. i swear to you that it was the most surprisingly delicious fried chicken a person could eat. so i mentioned the maryland wendy’s to the group.
as the words left my mouth i cringed inside. oh no! they are going to think i love greasy fried chicken! that it’s all i eat.
i tried to downplay it by saying maybe it was a test or something. suggesting that my fascination wasn’t so much with the chicken itself, but with the business decision to add it to the menu.
but i knew that wasn’t true. according to my aunt, this wendy’s had always served fried chicken. it wasn’t a big deal to the family i was staying with, but for me, a girl used to choosing between popeyes, kfc and bojangles (if i’m lucky), this was a major discovery.
do i eat fried chicken every day? of course not. i might have it once a month, if that. mostly because fried foods aren’t healthy. but also because i don’t feel comfortable eating fried chicken at work. baked, broiled, grilled – those are ok. but not fried.
ugh! i even feel guilty about liking the chicken now. but i did dammit! i liked it. it was good.
and black people aren’t the only ones who eat fried chicken. white people eat it too. and so do all other groups of people…asians, latinos, indians. all of you eat fried chicken. all of you.
*sigh*. so that was my awkward black girl moment today. i was so upset with myself. i was worried that i had set “the race” back 60 years. in retrospect, i imagine that i probably didn’t reverse the progress of the entire civil rights movement with my blunder. did my colleagues notice? probably not. and even if they did, i have a feeling it was a fleeting thought. at least, that is my hope.
and now for your listening pleasure…
how black people celebrate chicken
how white people celebrate chicken