Please know when I finished this post, I took some time to pour love into my psyche. It is almost as bad as watching movies & TV with overt & violent racism. And I can't watch those. I had to be in the love clouds when I decided to scour the underbelly of food stereotypes. Psychologist & sociologists need to study poverty, lying, and self-hate deeper. Then go with a cyborg that is set on stun, to educate the past. I'm sorry to say this but too many people in the past Hated themselves. I knew that but not to this magnitude.
Who made the "Black folks loves them some chicken & watermelon" stereotype? A working-class Southerner in the 1800's said it about the mysterious Black people and pop culture marathon ran with it.
Since the American Civil War, traditional "slave foods" like fried chicken & watermelon have suffered a strong association with African-American stereotypes and blackface minstrelsy. The Scottish were the first Europeans to deep fry their chicken in fat (though without seasoning). The West African peoples had traditions of seasoned fried chicken (battered and cooked palm oil). Scottish frying techniques and West African seasoning techniques were combined by enslaved Africans and Black Americans in the American South.
Contrary to the textbooks, cotton & tobacco weren't the only things grown on plantations. Watermelons were many of the other agricultural goods grown. After the Civil War, newly freed black people grew, ate, and sold watermelons. Many slaves work in the job areas they were "trained" to work previously. Also that fruit, Watermelon became a symbol of their freedom. Poor Southern farmers, became threatened by blacks’ newfound freedom. It meant that the former enslaved, that worked for the bigger competion were now competion. The Blacks were now Equals. So, they responded by making anything that black people did to be perceived to be unclean, lazy, childish, and unwanted in public places. Their rumors were widely spread through the pop culture vehicles of art, minstrel shows, & a movie called Birth of a Nation by D.W. Griffin.
For several decades in the late 19th century through to the mid-20 century, the watermelon stereotype was promoted through caricatures in print, film, sculpture and music, and as a common decorative theme on household good. Yes, I said music.
Popular songs of the time pushed the stereotypes into belief. When the ice cream man comes around and we hear "Turkey in the Straw", now. There was another song made & performed in 1919. You can listen to it
HERE. Talk about a remix.
D.W. Griffith's 1915 silent movie called, Birth of a Nation is about the heroic founding of the Ku Klux Klan. If you have never watched this film, here is your warning.
It Is the MOST Racist Movie Known to Man.
One scene in the movie features a group of white actors in blackface portraying lazy black elected officials acting rowdy and gross in a legislative hall. Some of the legislators are shown drinking alcohol. Others had their feet kicked up on their desks. And one of them was very flamboyantly eating fried chicken. Minstrel shows were popular to theater crowd. Actors in blackface also would be on stage joyously eating chicken & watermelon while acting slothful & idle.
But we know all these stereotypes are tied with a bow hypocrisy because Fried Chicken & Watermelon is Loved by Everyone. History said that the Scottish were the first in Europe to fry chicken. If pop culture used common sense...Wait!!! Gossip & Rumors don't function with common sense. I can imagine one of those liars in the late 19th century, smacking on a greasy drumstick telling his tale. SMH
Okay, I'm not a fan of watermelons & any watermelon flavored products. Like bananas, they're too sweet for my taste buds. I do like Fried Chicken. If you ask me who (restaurant) has the best chicken in Dallas, Tx. I will tell you Henderson's, Max's Wine Dive, & Golden Chick.
Do Not listen to anyone who says Rudy's. It is over-salted. LoL I don't eat any of it, often. It's been a while since I had Henderson's. In a previous
POST, I told you about Oven Fried Chicken. It reminds me of elementary school. It is very tasty and with less fat.
Oven-Fried Chicken (Variation of the Betty Crocker recipe)
Ingredients:
• 1 cut-up whole chicken (3 to 3 1/2 pounds)
• 3 cups cold water or milk
• 1 Tbsp. garlic powder
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 2/3 cup baking or pancake mix
• 1 1/2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp of dried Italian seasoning. salt free or poultry seasoning
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
Directions:
1. Soak the chicken in cold water or milk & garlic powder for 1/2 hour to 8 hours.
2. Remove the chicken from the water or milk mixture.
3. Preheat oven to 425°F.
4. Heat oil in rectangular baking dish, 13x9x2 inches, in oven.
5. Combine the baking or pancake mix & seasonings in a plastic zip-top bag.
6. Add the chicken and shake bag to coat the chicken.
7. Place chicken, skin sides down, in dish.
8. Bake 35 minutes; turn chicken. Bake about 15 minutes longer or until juice is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.
And yes, I don't like watermelon but many people do. They love watermelon and it is only fair to provide a fun recipe for them.
Simple Watermelon Smoothie
Ingredients:
- 2 cups frozen cubed watermelon (Every time you buy a watermelon for this purpose, cut it up in chunks and store the chunks in bags in the freezer.)
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon of honey or other sweetener to taste
- a few mint and/or basil leaves, if you want to take it to the next level
Directions:
- Blend the watermelon and the water until smooth.
- Add the honey and mint and blend another 10-20 seconds until mostly smooth and the consistency of a slushy.
- Serve immediately.
“Stereotypes exist because they are useful. They reduce the tremendous complexity of the world around us into a few simple guidelines, which we use in our everyday thoughts and decisions. However, the simpler and more convenient the stereotype, the more likely it is to be inaccurate, at least in part.” ~ Stuart Oskamp
Do you like Watermelon? What restaurant makes your favorite fried chicken? Ever had Oven-Fried chicken? Do you like it? Are you trying this smoothie recipe? Answer below in the comments.
As Always Talking to You in Adult Terms
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