'Are Fried Chicken And Watermelon Racist?' MTV's Franchesca Ramsey Asks...

[sheshe2]

'Are Fried Chicken And Watermelon Racist?' MTV's Franchesca Ramsey Asks In New Web Series

As much as we'd like to think everyone loves fried chicken and watermelon (perhaps not together), these delectables have been used as stereotypes against African-Americans for decades. They depict black people in degrading and demoralizing frames of reference and form ugly connotations that portray them as “lazy and simple.”

At least, that's how comedian and blogger Franchesca Ramsey puts it in a video published Wednesday. The three-minute video, titled “Are Fried Chicken and Watermelon Racist?” explores how these these stereotypes are racist and why their associations are harmful.

The video is the first of a new MTV Web series Ramsey is hosting, titled “Decoded,” that will air on the brand's newly launched MTV News YouTube channel. Each week, Ramsey will take on race, social issues and pop culture with an honest and comedic spin.

“A show like ‘Decoded’ highlights why we need to break these subjects down, because there’s a lot of people who don’t understand and get uncomfortable when we talk about race,” Ramsey told The Huffington Post. “There’s still a lot of discomfort, there’s a lot people who need to learn things, but we’re trying to focus on people who are confused and want to learn and comedy helps to infiltrate that.”

snip

If that means taking and slamming racist stereotypes that should have been eradicated years ago, then we say it’s a great place for the series to start.

Read More http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/03/mtv-decoded-fried-chicken_n_7498150.html?utm_hp_ref=black-voices

[randys1]

1. No, they arent. I know who is, though. Cant say it, too risky.

Inanimate objects, no.

Certain group of people, vast majority of them, yes.

But I cant say who

[JustAnotherGen]

2. +1

That's the wisest course of action.

Do you think the derailment will come by 9 PM or midnight?

Wish we had a self centered smilie for times like these.

[sheshe2]

4. Lol~

[JustAnotherGen]

11. She's so cute!

And it will be able to see who just wants to throw jello at the wall vs who watches it because in like 3 minutes she explains it with cartoons, and chicken, and watermelon.

And now I know why I prefer my coffee from Dunkin Donuts.

[sheshe2]

13. Starbucks~

It tastes like burnt beans! DD I will take any day~

"And it will be able to see who just wants to throw jello at the wall vs who watches it because in like 3 minutes she explains it with cartoons, and chicken, and watermelon."

Franchesca was great, JAG.

********

There is always room for J.E.L.L.O.

Wall art~



Should I duck?

[MADem]

45. I wanna hang around this conversation!

It sounds like-minded to me!

[sheshe2]

49. We will see.

You are my fav~

Gotta go.

[freshwest]

14. At times like this I miss AJ90! NOT! n/t

[sheshe2]

16. TBH~

[JustAnotherGen]

54. Truthfully :-)

[sheshe2]

6. +1

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

3. In my family, we take pictures

of kids with their faces in a big chunk of watermelon, but I can understand why - depending on context - some would think there's a racial context.

[JustAnotherGen]

8. This girl nailed it!

I forgot about the savages eating fried chicken in birth of a nation!

[freshwest]

17. Speaking of savages:

Africans shocked by uncivilized antics of European savages

By The Red Phoenix on April 29, 2012

DAKAR. Africans say they have little hope that Europe will ever become civilized, after a week in which Spain’s King Carlos went on an elephant-killing spree and the Swedish Culture Minister was entertained by a racially offensive cake. “You can take the European out of the jungle, but you can’t take the jungle out of the European,” sighed one resident of Kinshasa.

August Mwanasa, of Libreville in Gabon, said the latest atrocities didn’t surprise him as Europeans were still “savages”. “I don’t want to sound racist, and some of my best friend are white, but let’s be honest: violence is hard-wired into their DNA,” said Mwanasa. “I mean, Europeans killed over 20 million other Europeans in the 1930s and 1940s. That’s barbarism on a scale unprecedented in history.”

Jenkins Odumbe, a Nairobi milliner, bemoaned ingrained attitudes of entitlement in Europe. “If they’re not going on the dole they’re asking for bail-outs,” he said. “Why can’t they just get up earlier and work harder, that’s what I want to know?” Liberte Aidoo, a Ghanaian travel agent, said she had been “shocked and disgusted” by what she found on her first trip to Spain.

“The brochures promise sea and sun, but they’re still incredibly backward in Spain,” she recalled. “Basically they all live in mud huts called haciendas, and they sleep for two hours in the middle of the day. In Europe they call it a ‘siesta’. In Ghana we call it ‘being #%@@@%% lazy’.”

WARNING: Unpleasant pics at at the link, but important points:

http://theredphoenixapl.org/2012/04/29/africans-shocked-by-uncivilized-antics-of-european-savages/

Kinda weird, here's another site:

http://ojiudezue.com/blog/index.php/snark-worthy-of-reposting/

[Quayblue]

22. lol @ the Ghanaian reference

a nap is 20 minutes and one eye is always open.

[SoCalDem]

55. Watermelons are inherently photogenic

They are colorful and HUGE...and so very tasty...and looking waaay back to when slaves had to scrounge for foods, it made sense to appropriate certain foods that the master could not begrudge them..

I grew watermelons once, and my back yard was literally overrun with melons..the vines were all over and every day they got closer to the back door.. It was a bodysnatcher attack of the melons .. a slave master would raise a ruckus if pigs or cattle came up missing, but chickens were abundant and fast growing so of course slaves would catch & eat chickens.. and families always pass down recipes & tastes from generation to generation

Had white folks been the downtrodden ones, their photos with foods they preferred, could have been interpreted the same way....



Society always appropriates "trappings" as a coded identity shortcut.. There's a reason why certain items become iconic for certain groups & eras in time..

[pipoman]

5. A black family enjoying fried chicken and/or watermelon

Isn't "racist" in the least. Some idiot taking a picture and posting it on FB with a rude caption? Most likely....

[LittleBlue]

7. How did fried chicken and watermelon come to be associated with black people?

Poll a crowd of average white poeple and I'd bet 80% would admit to liking fried chicken. Does anyone really dislike watermelon?

I love both

[JustAnotherGen]

9. You didn't watch the video

She explains it - and she's adorable. And she eats fried chicken and watermelon.

It's cute - you should watch it.

And I totally didn't get why my white girlfriends back home keep posting pics of themselves with Starbucks w/ "getting my white girl fix".

I thought it was some coded western NY thing - I had no idea it was a stereotype. Now I can't wait for my mom to come visit so I can "bond" with her!

[sheshe2]

12. Franchesca is a winner!

I think I need to watch some more of her on MTV.

[LittleBlue]

18. I watched it

And knew someone would reply with "you didn't watch" This is DU after all

I'm asking why it was fried chicken and not something else

[lovemydog]

43. I think she's saying it caught on like a viral video would.

Spreading silly stereotypes to insult people. It was shown in racist movies like Birth of a Nation- depicting a black legislator eating a drumstick while the body is in session. Then was spread in other movies too. In a completely denigrating manner. Kind of like a viral video being spread around to perpetuate a mean prejudice against a group of people. Used to stereotype people as eating when they should be working. Like movies that would always show Native Americans whooping around in teepees. Or women afraid to lift something. Or gay people talking with a limp wrist and lisp. Stuff like that. That's my take from what she's saying.

[JustAnotherGen]

53. Because nothing else was used - other than

Watermelon.

I don't know why white people in America did that?

Why do you think they used that imagery?

[bigwillq]

20. I dislike watermelon

But LOVE fried chicken.

[Lyric]

28. +1

All melons are disgusting.

[gvstn]

24. I was at a dinner with extended family.

One of the in her late teens daughters said in reference to watermelon while wrinkling her nose, "Watermelon, what's the point?"

So yea, I actually met someone that was repulsed by watermelon. Didn't think it was possible but I still like to repeat her quote because it cracks me up every time.

My grandfather who loved any type of fruit used to cut a watermellon in four pieces and give each of us 5-6-7 year old grand kids our piece. My grandmother was never very pleased but will all grew up thinking that was a proper portion of watermelon.

[Behind the Aegis]

31. Buh-bye!

[icymist]

37. LOL!

[Rhiannon12866]

44. This one was determined, took five tries.

Sorry he got in a post...

[Behind the Aegis]

46. Damn! That's what I get for taking a shower!

I missed it!

[Rhiannon12866]

47. Like all the others,

It was a nastygram. You really didn't miss much...

[sheshe2]

50. I missed it too.

My guess? You would probably needed another shower.

[catrose]

57. Being from the deep South

Very few meals in my white Anglo world did not have fried chicken, watermelon, black eyed peas, or cornbread.

[Solly Mack]

10. K&R

[Kalidurga]

15. I like her.

[jamzrockz]

19. You know

I like watermelon and I like chicken but those two together doesn't sound like a good combination to me. Also its not a racist stereotype, its a racial one. There is a big difference between the two.

[sheshe2]

21. It can be racist, depending on how it is used.

And what story is told.

I will stick with the black woman's explanation.

[jamzrockz]

23. My apologies

I did not watch the video or fully read the article before commenting. After doing both, I can now see how that particular stereotype can be used in a racist way.

Sadly this is not the first time I have commented only after reading the headline and it may not be the last time I do it

[sheshe2]

40. Thanks.

A suggestion, read it first.

[Behind the Aegis]

34. True, especially when rolled out as the menu for "Black History Month."

I had a friend who was AA but hated eating fried chicken in public. I found that sad. As it stands now, I think, with the exception of a few times, most people don't really think much about it as a stereotype and actually think of it more of as a joke, not realizing the nasty history behind the stereotype.

[sheshe2]

35. Yes, I remember "Black History Month."

A wink wink and a nudge nudge.

Sad about your friend. So very sad, BtA.

[Behind the Aegis]

25. She is some kinda awesome!

She also gave us:

I really like her comedic, but no nonsense approach to difficult subjects. She is clever, funny, and educational. Basically, she RAWWWKS!

[sheshe2]

36. Kick!

[romanic]

26. Its racist

if you attach it strictly to black people. Otherwise, who wouldn't want a plate of fresh fried chicken (not that KFC crap) with homemade mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, corn with melted butter....okay ill stop. Lol

Watermelon I've never really liked though, not sweet enough for my liking. Js

[giftedgirl77]

27. Well I see the whoosh factor is already in full effect

in this thread

Great post sheshe.

[sheshe2]

33. No kidding.

[Jamaal510]

29. I never did

like watermelons. They aren't sweet enough, and it's a hassle to cut the melon into slices, and to always have to spit the seeds out as I eat one. I did used to like watermelon-flavored Trix yogurt when I was a kid, but that's it.
As far as fried chicken goes, I like it (preferably KFC), but I don't have it that often--usually my family has Popeye's once a week when I'm back home for the summer and winter. When I'm upstate for school, I can't have it at all because there are none of those stores in the entire town. And fried chicken isn't even my top dinner choice; I'm a pizza nut.

[sheshe2]

39. Hey Jamaal!

I like watermelon in the smoothies I make. Yum.

So how is school going? You must be out soon for summer! Enjoy, you deserve it.

[Jamaal510]

52. I never thought

about watermelon smoothies. I bet they taste better than watermelon itself.
At Humboldt State, school got out on May 13. I'm definitely enjoying not having to go grocery shopping every week or write a bazillion 3-page POSCI papers.

[Recursion]

38. It's funny. I grew up in Mississippi and didn't see that trope until I left

I suppose because both fried chicken and watermelon are really popular among white people there.

[lovemydog]

41. I love her.

She answers a lot of questions that I had, in a really funny way.

[sheshe2]

48. It's like Jon Stewart

And Stephen Colbert. They get the point across every damn time with humor. I do believe it sinks into our brains faster than the faux news we get from the rest of the channels.

Hugs to you 'cause, I love you.

[lovemydog]

51. Yeah, comedians get it.

They make us laugh at our foibles. Love you too.

[Iggo]

56. No. People are. Societies are. Food isn't.