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Why the Fried Chicken and Watermelon Stereotype is Offensive
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Feb 6, 2025
#blackhistory #blackexcellence #food Where did the stereotype that Black people love fried chicken and watermelon start? And why did it stick around for this long? Black Excellence Media is a digital platform sharing noteworthy and interesting stories in Black culture. BlackExcellence.com
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I can't believe I even have to address
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this stereotype because it's so dumb but
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let's get into it black people love
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fried chicken and watermelons they say
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but I mean who doesn't love Fried
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Chicken and watermelon there's Korean
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fried chicken I just got back from Japan
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and Japanese people love fried chicken
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but I mean everybody loves fried chicken
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and out of all of the fruits why is
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watermelon The Stereotype for black
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people that has to be probably the most
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universally loved of all the fruits
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there's got to be some type of
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historical reason why these two have
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stuck as stereotypes that still persist
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today I think I saw on the news that
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some schools Started Black History Month
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with Fried Chicken and watermelon a few
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years ago parents at a Rockland County
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Middle School sounding the alarm over a
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lunch menu item as CBS 2's Alicia Reed
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reports a meal scene widely as offensive
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was served on the first day of black
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history month instead of Philly cheese
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steak Brock and fresh fruit Aramark the
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food service company that provides meals
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to the district served chicken and
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waffles and watermelon I was questioning
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like because they don't usually give
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watermelons if they had served Chicken
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Chicken and Waffles by itself I don't
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know that we would be having this
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conversation but the moment you add in
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the watermelon that changed the whole
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complexion The Stereotype linking black
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people to Fried Chicken and watermelon
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dates back to Antella South and the era
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of slavery chickens were mostly the only
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animals slaves were allowed to raise on
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their own and they were easy to raise
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and look after also it just so happens
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chickens are a great source of meat and
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nutrition watermelon native to Africa
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was another important part of diet for
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enslaved people it was grown in
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abundance in the South and provided
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hydration and nutrition during the hot
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summer months both Foods were practical
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and accessible for enslave populations
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leading to their association with black
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communities after the Civil War and the
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abolition of slavery black Americans
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continued to cultivate and enjoy these
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Foods however their consumption of Fried
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Chicken and watermelon began to be
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portrayed negatively by White Society
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all while they were probably secretly
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eating it like crazy during
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Reconstruction black Americans sought to
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establish economic independence with
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many becoming farmers and Street vendors
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selling Fried Chicken and watermelon
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these efforts were met with disdained
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and ridiculed by the broader white
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population all while probably eating it
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still like crazy the late 19th and
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earliest 20th century saw the
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proliferation of racist caricatures and
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stereotypes that dehumanized black
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Americans popular culture including
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menstrual shows literature and
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advertising played a significant role in
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spreading these harmful images menstrual
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shows were a popular form of
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entertainment in the 19th century where
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white performers in blackface portrayed
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exaggerated and demeaning stereotypes of
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black people these performances often
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included scenes of black characters
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eating fried Chicken and watermelon
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reinforcing the association of these
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foods with racial inferiority and
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laziness the Ridiculousness of racism is
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that slaves that built so much of
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America that worked from sun up to sun
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down were portrayed to be lazy the
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minstral show character Jim Crow from
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which the segregation laws took their
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name often depicted black people as
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simple-minded and obsessed with these
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foods and of course there is that one
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film we keep coming back to when we talk
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about race relations in the US Birth of
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a Nation This Racist film that
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celebrates the founding of the K clux
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Clan aka the KKK was a big hit in 1915 I
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mean there is one scene where there is a
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group of Rowdy black elected officials
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shown drinking and eating fried chicken
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that really solidified The Stereotype of
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black people loving Fried Chicken to
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picture of black people enjoying Fried
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Chicken and watermelon became ubiquitous
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in advertising and media postcards
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advertisements and cartoons from the
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earli 20th century often featured
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exaggerated images of black people with
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oversized watermelons and greasy fingers
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from eating fried chicken these images
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were used to Mock and demean black
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Americans perpetuating The Stereotype
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that they were unsophisticated and
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childlike according to them they were
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uncivilized Savages who used their hands
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to actually pick up food and eat I mean
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how dare they and even as Fried Chicken
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became a national sensation and
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watermelon just stayed a popular fruit
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like it has always been black people got
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very little of the credit and still were
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stuck with most of the stereo types KFC
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is a global brand think about all the
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wealth the likes of Popeyes and Church's
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Chicken has created and side note did
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you guys know that a fried chicken place
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called chicken Inn actually existed
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this place actually like really actually
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existed I'm not making this up this
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place was founded in 1925 and had three
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locations before it went out of business
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in
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1957 1957 a place called chicken I
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do this every day research things every
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day and I have never heard of this place
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until now it's crazy what you will learn
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all the time about race relations in the
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US but to our credit we didn't let these
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stereotypes deter us from keeping our
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soul food culture which includes Fried
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Chicken
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and watermelon at the end of the day The
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Stereotype is not that we like Fried
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Chicken and watermelon of course
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Everyone likes them the real stereotype
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is that black people are uncivilized and
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lazy is it a stereotype to say a
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specific culture eats a specific type of
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food is it offensive to say this culture
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likes rice this culture likes pasta this
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culture likes sausages if there is no
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negative connotation that is associated
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with it then these are just foods that
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are globally enjoyed even if they are
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strong associated with one culture so if
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someone comes up to me and says black
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people love Fried Chicken and watermelon
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what are they really trying to say when
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Sergio Garcia a Tiger Woods rival said
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he would invite Tiger Woods to his house
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and serve Fried Chicken what was he
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really saying this happened back in 2013
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when Garcia was asked if he would invite
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Woods to his house during the US Open
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the exact quote was we'll have him round
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every night we'll serve Fried Chicken
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was he saying Fried Chicken is delicious
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meal that's universally liked and I
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would serve it to anybody or was he
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saying since Tiger Woods is black and
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likely uncivilized he would only eat
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fried chicken let me know if anybody has
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ever tried to offend you with these
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stereotypes and how you responded make
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sure you like subscribe and hit that
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Bell thank you very much we'll see you
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next time on the next video now now
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let's get back to this Camala Trump
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race which I'm currently watching at the
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same
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[Music]
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time and to say Cala and to say Cala is
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not a black person is a complete joke
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and goes back to stereotypes even within
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the our own black
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community um that black people are
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supposed to act a certain
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way so I think tonight's going to be a
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sad
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night I just want to put that on record
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highly disappointed in
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America that's all goodbye