It’s Not Like White People Don’t Know Black People Eat Chicken: The #MaryJBlige Controversy

by Funnel Cake Flowers, The Urban Chameleon news reporter

If we never saw another Black person associated with chicken would racism go away? Would we get our 40 acres and a mule? Or would there be something else to bitch about?

When news broke that Mary J. Blige participated in perpetuating one of the oldest stereotypes in the book by endorsing Burger King’s new crispy fried chicken in a wrap, or something like that, I couldn’t help but to chuckle right before letting out a long ass sigh. To quote the article “Mary J. Blige soulfully sings about chicken,” as if we needed a description of how Mary J. Blige saaaangs or that it would have made a difference if the chicken song were performed in Classic Rock. Regardless, I wasn’t sure if I should be blaming Mary for not knowing better or the Black community for bringing attention to this older than dirt matter.

I sometimes wonder if raising awareness about “Black people chicken singing” does the opposite of what we intend, provide a different reason to be stereotyped. Isn’t saying, “Don’t associate chicken with Black people” just as bad as “All Black people eat chicken?” (However, I do hate that Mary is looking at the only sista in the Burger King trying to make a connection like, "Gurrrrl, I know you about to get some chicken). I digress.

Have we lost sight of what we’re fighting for? Or are Black people just prone to become defensive when it comes to chicken?

The original stereotype dates back to when exaggerated depictions of Blacks (blackface minstrelsy) were used as mascots to sell fried chicken (I refuse to include a photo). Mary J. Blige is a rich successful recording artist, recognized internationally, and I doubt that she needs whatever Burger King was paying, although I’m sure it didn't hurt. (Maybe she did it for the free chicken because uhhhh...she actually likes chicken). Regardless, did we ever consider the fact that Mary J. Blige felt like she could comfortably do a commercial about fried chicken might just be the progress we were once looking for? Maybe I’m being too optimistic in my thinking, but I bet in a 2.0 version of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s “I have a Dream” speech, there might just be a line about little Black boys and little Black girls being able to talk about their chicken eating lovin' without shame.

Don’t get me wrong, there have been plenty of negligent moments portrayed in media that need calling out. For Example, I think Bravo and VH1 do more harm to the images of women and minority groups than Mary J Blige singing about chicken, but for some reason Black people never seem to profoundly rally around this. Are we on autopilot; Chicken=problem? If we keep making something a problem when do we ever realize when the problem is no longer a problem? Maybe we should put more focus on having people of color endorse things like granola or yogurt. I know one thing is for sure, it's complicated. I'm Funnel Cake Flowers your Urban Chameleon news reporter.

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Chicken Toss & Cigars

by today's Urban Chameleon contributor

About a couple of years ago I made the transition from secret meetings with the weed man and smoking blunts in conspicuous places with my homeboys to discovering a love for fine cigars. Each day I look forward to sitting on my patio and sampling a different brand. Some folks smoke cigars as a social activity but I enjoy being alone and unwinding with peace and quiet.

Yesterday, I was doing just that when a brotha dressed in swim trunks and flip flops, presumably on his way to the communal pool, yells up to me (third floor of a complex in a gated community) and says, “Hey brotha, you want a piece of chicken?” I looked down to confirm that he was in fact talking to me and see that he’s holding a large tin of chicken wings. I declined the offer but the brotha was persistent; he offered to toss a piece of chicken up to my patio. When I declined the second time he asked if I preferred a piece of corn. Once again I told the brotha I was cool. What do I look like hanging over my balcony trying to catch a piece of chicken or corn. What happens if I don’t catch it? Why am I even thinking through the scenario? My moment of cigar Zen was ruined. How is it that the ‘hood found me?!

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When White People Cross the Line (episode 1 "Finding a non Black friend")

by today's Urban Chameleon contributor

Citra Marks

As an Urban Chameleon you always have to be mindful of how you engage in cultural conversations with someone that is not from the same culture…

Recently my friend and I had taken on two new white friends. This was quite the accomplishment for us being that one day we realized we had none and decided we needed to expand the racial pool of our friends. We’d been spending way too much time uptown in the Black Mecca with Harlem’s finest sipping watermelon martini’s and noshing on chicken sataay discussing the next the political agenda for Black America. It wasn’t always like this…

In college our every day crew was comprised of someone Turkish, Lebanese, Portuguese, Polish, Sri Lankan, Nigerian and Nepalese. But a couple of weeks ago when my friend and I were trying to help out another friend who was looking to cast a couple of non Black females for a film project neither of us could think of anyone. How could we possibly call ourselves Urban Chameleons? So we made a goal for 2010: find non Black friends.

We had been taking this Hip-Hop Yoga class for several months, which is where we met our two new white friends. The relationship began like most gym relationships, you know with the casual after workout conversations, “I saw you doing your thing today, you were working it out!” which eventually leads to someone initiating a hang out.

A couple of Sundays ago they invited us over to another friend of theirs place who lives around the corner from Hip-Hop yoga to watch the football game. It turned out to be an amazing penthouse apartment. Elevators that open right up to the foyer, 40ft ceilings with 30ft windows, in door and out door fireplaces, a wrap around balcony with a view overlooking the city. The drinks started flowing and the friend who owned the apartment made the best hot wings we had ever tasted. They were so off the hook that my friend who doesn’t even eat chicken off the bone was going back for more, and I who usually tries to curtail my enthusiasm about chicken around white people was animated over the wings; our guards were down.

As the night progressed and the more one of the white girls drank the more tell-it-like-it-is she became. She was definitely a down white girl but the golden mistake of the night is when my friend actually told her this, “Ohmigod you are hilarious, I feel like you’re secretly a Black woman inside!”

Rule #1 for Black people: Never ever ever ever tell a white person they are like a Black person. Once white people receive this level of approval it’s as if you’ve enabled them to cross all kinds of inappropriate cultural lines.

The white girl responds, I know right! I sometimes feel like that! We should totally name the Black girl inside of me.

At this point my friend who is way too drunk to realize that she has detonated a bomb on the Black race continues by partaking in the ceremony of naming the white girl’s inner Black girl. The other white girl says how about Shaniqua ?

“Yes!” My friend responds meanwhile I have plastered the fake smile across my face. I mean what to do at this point? Begin reciting the Martin Luther King, “I have a Dream,” speech? Or was this Martin’s dream? He did say something about little Black girls and white girls being able to play together but damn.

They then ask us if we’ve seen the Youtube video about the 60 top Black names, which neither of us had. They tell us how hilarious it is and promise to send it to us to check out and they do…

After watching this video the friendship ended and we stopped attending Hip Hop Yoga. You just can’t bounce back from that kind of cultural line crossing- I mean Fried Chicken-e-Qua? Seriously? I don’t think so. However, we both learned our lesson and will hopefully have better success at this Dim Sum party we’re attending tonight. Ch'eng seems very nice.

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NBC Serves Fried Chicken In Honor of Black History Month

Urban Chameleon news

This poor woman who works as part of the cooking staff at NBC was just trying to bring some culture to the networks lunch hour only to be shut down. However you cannot post a menu in a white establishment that begins with "fried chicken" in honor of Black history month and not expect people to feel some kind of way about it. How many times do we have to say it... Black people are very sensitive about their public image with chicken!

The other problem is that Black History month is suppose to recognize the African Diaspora so it would behoove the chef next time (as if there will be a next time- you know those NBC execs are like damnit Wanita (we totally just made up that name for this woman) this is why we do nothing) to think about including foods from other parts of the Diaspora. We're just sayin' tho'

In honor of Black History Month, the NBC cafeteria served fried chicken, collard greens, and jalapeno cornbread today for lunch. The picture below was snapped by Questlove, the drummer for the Roots--Jimmy Fallon's house band. He was also the musician that pointed out via Twitter that Conan spent half a million dollars on a walk-out song for Tom Hanks during his last episode.

Someone tweeting under the name @nbcu (which, as of now, only has 8 followers) is claiming to and be NBC's VP of Communications, Kevin Goldman. The first and only tweet says: "The sign in the NBCU cafeteria has been removed. We apologize for anyone who was offended by it."'

UPDATE: Questlove just tweeted: "i think i need a twitter break. i done started something. and now i must put out fire." Apparently, NBC is not thrilled with this attention.

UPDATE II: NBC has removed the sign from the cafeteria and apologized if it offended anyone.

The chef, Leslie Calhoun -- who is black -- said she has been trying to institute a special Black History Month menu for years and was allowed to do so for the first time this year. She said doesn't understand the controversy.

"I don't understand at all," she told NBC partner site TheGrio. "It's not trying to offend anybody and it's not trying to suggest that that's all that African-Americans eat. It's just a good meal. I thought it would go over well."

click here to see full article and watch interview of the chef on www.huffingtonpost.com

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What da bumbaclot is KFC doing?

Urban Chameleon news

New KFC commercials have been released featuring an overwhelming amount of black people way too excited over chicken.

Now what in da hell is KFC doing? Everyone knows that Black people are very sensitive about being in the public spotlight with a piece chicken (despite our love for the bird) so why are they doing this? Who is on this marketing team...and for WHO are these commercials marketed too?!






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RNC Under Fire For Racist Obama Picture

Urban Chameleon news

This level of stupidity doesn't even warrant a comment.

The Republican National Committee's Facebook page raised eyebrows after a racist picture appeared on the group's fan page. A “fan” of the committee posted a picture of President Obama eating a piece of fried chicken with a caption that reads:

“Miscegenation is a crime against American values. Repeal Loving v. Virginia.”

source from hip hop wired

The Caribbean Gas Passer

by today’s Urban Chameleon contributor

I love my West Indian people and I love our food but you can’t bring it everywhere, especially not every day to the office.

My colleague, let’s call him Max, loves to bring his curry goat, rice and peas and fried plantains for lunch on most days. If it’s not that it’s another Caribbean curry dish of some sort, which is cool lawd knows I get down on the same grub but during work hours I’m on a toss chicken salad with a vinaigrette dressing diet.

For the very reason that every day around 3PM, when I assume that Max’s curry has attempted to digest a wretched stench invades our cubicle space. Since Max and I are the only ones who are seated in this area of the office I’m usually the only one experiencing these violent episodes of suffocation.

Every now and then someone will walk through our section at this time and notice the putrid smell and make a joke, “Phew! Who farted?” Max will try to cover this up by complaining about a trash bin that hasn’t been taken out but he can’t fool me I grew up with the same curry and I know a curry fart when I smell one.

Jesus. What to do? Do I bring HR into this?


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KFC takes the Chicken to far!

Urban Chameleon news

KFC has really taken it to far with replacing the bread in a fried chicken sandwich with FRIED CHICKEN! I don't care how much one loves chicken this is a heart attack waiting to happen. We cannot support this.

Fox New Reports


Check out more pics at Foodgeekery


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Does Spicey Foods Cause Nightmares?

by today's Urban Chameleon contributor
Ken Stiggers




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Trini to the Bone

by today’s Urban Chameleon contributor

There are only five great people in the world and they are Trinidad, Trinidad, Trinidad, Trinidad, Trinidad. This is how uncle, Tony feels about his beloved country so much so that he refuses to travel on vacation to anywhere else from his Brooklyn home where he and my aunt live but to Trinidad. He claims Trinidad is the best place on planet earth, why go anywhere else. However, what I don’t understand is how he ended up together with my aunt who is Jamaican. Why not just marry a Trini instead of trying to convince a Jamaican for over twenty years now how much better Trinidad is? Regardless, Uncle Tony never misses a moment to mess with the Jamaican side of our family.

This past Memorial Day weekend, I came down early one morning for breakfast where uncle, Tony was sipping some coffee and eating a traditional Trini breakfast. He has an entire section in the pantry that is just of his precious Trini products that he brings back from every visit. He says to me. “You want some Trini breakfast?”

“No that’s ok uncle, Tony I’m just going to scramble some eggs.”

He grunts as if to say that I’m missing out. A couple of moments of silence go by until he begins to tell me that he one day saw Bob Marley eating chicken. Incase you aren’t aware Bob Marley eating chicken would be considered Sac religious being that Rastafarians generally believe that touching meat is touching death. However, Uncle Tony swears that Bob was gnawing on a bone.

“Uncle Tony where would you have seen Bob Marley eating chicken?”

“In Trinidad! Where else.”

“He was not.”

“I am telling you, Bob Marley was at Sammy's chicken shack right up the street from where I grew up gnawing on several chicken bones just eatin’ up all dat good chicken. He had on some dark sunglasses trying to hide in disguise but I know it was him. What made me even notice him in da first place is that I sensed someone was in dat chicken shack not from Trinidad only to see Bob Marley himself. ”

“Uncle Tony, I don’t know if I believe you.”

“It’s ok dear, you can't blame Bob. Trinidad’s chicken is the BEST in the world…if I was Bob I would be sneaking off to Sammy's shack too.

Uncle Tony can’t help but to mess with me this morning. He is just Trini to da bone.

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