Psyche Williams-Forson, "More than Just the 'Big Piece of Chicken'": The Power of Race, Class, and Food in American Consciousness

I found this reading eye-opening yet somewhat complex. I have recognized the connection between food and specific cultures and how it plays a role in identity, but never have I so deeply considered the connection between food and aspects such as race, gender, power, stereotypes, and how people play into these certain stereotypes as a style of "performance." The opening of the essay discusses a comedic performance from Chris Rock and he actively feeds into the stereotypes surrounding "what it is to be black," in a somewhat satirical tone. His focus centers around a cuisine commonly associated with black culture: fried chicken. The essay goes deeper into explaining the history behind African American's association with chicken through a bartering system during the pre-Civil War era where blacks would trade chicken, a game that had not been cultivated at the time, with white slaveholders in exchange for bacon or other commodities. Since this time chicken has served as something the majority identifies African American culture with as a whole. While reading this essay I couldn't help but think of other images of African Americans portrayed as "masters" of typically Southern style cuisine. Most of us, especially in the South, are familiar with the image of Uncle Ben on a carton of rice and Aunt Jemima plastered on the front of a bottle of syrup. This essay also made me examine an "authentically Southern" restaurant in my hometown of Columbus, Ga. If you are a native to Columbus there is one thing you know to be an absolute truth: Dinglewood has the best scrambled dogs in the South East. The maker of these magnificent dogs is the even more famous "Lieutenant." He is an old African American man that has a knack for making unbelievable chili poured onto a plain hot dog. His face is shown on all Dinglewood cups, an image of a jolly old man with a huge smile wearing a hat that has Lieutenant on the front. The image is designed in an old fashioned style that feeds into the stereotype of "blackness" depicted through an old, jolly, African American, who is over joyed to be serving you the finest scrambled dogs in the land. The essay really made me think about how relevant stereotypes are to this day, even if many people are unaware of them, and how even the group being stereotyped often play into these stereotypes as a type of "performance" or as a way to achieve acceptance by acting a certain way that the majority deems as right.