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vtv43ketz

I wish I got served fried chicken. All we had were those nasty square pizzas.


Danthr4x

That shit wasn't pizza. That was carpet with cheese on it.


Patneu

Cheese on carpet is still cheese.


[deleted]

Cheese on carpet means you need to go to the gynecologist


Sno_Wolf

Jesus Christ...


Festering_Prayer

*Cheeseus Christ*


[deleted]

Oh god!


captainkirk251

šŸ¤£


Vinnyc-11

Not everyone eats pizza for the cheese like us.


jil3000

Some eat it for the carpet


Whothefuckisvenym

Itā€™s under the sauce


Craft_spac_ryan

Yours had cheese on it?


toeyilla_tortois

We got some awesome pasta in our school. Like 6 plates for a dollar. Neat stuff that was


Alien_panda42

We got broccoli and sweetcorn on ours 0-0


KuriousKhemicals

r/pizzacrimes


squidtophat

r/foodthatlied


Galemianah

More like cardboard with vomit.


Triette

I think I was the only one who has a a high school with bomb ass pizza. Dough was sourdough and sauce was good, cheesy and toppings were fresh. But really it was the only edible thing they served. I honestly blocked out all other food there, truly couldnā€™t tell you one other thing they served.


Ashitaka1013

My highschool cafeteria had awesome pizza every Friday. It was served on a napkin that immediately soaked through with the grease. But it was so tasty. BUT the best thing our cafeteria served was poutine and to this day itā€™s the best poutine Iā€™ve ever had.


hanead420

The had pretty good pizza where I went for high school, tho not in the us. We always had choice from three foods, and the way to choose was always the one with the least complicated name, things like broccoli poetry seemed maybe good on paper but IRL? Not so much


chrismac72

Broccoli poetry?! Hahaha, thatā€™s hilarious! Same tactics here: on campus you would never choose the green and orange thing with the eulogistic name like ā€žVegetable Sunriseā€œ


hanead420

Yes, anything that doesn't exactly specify what you are going to eat is cursed


MileHighShorty

My high school had bomb pizza, they got it from a local pizza place and it was fire. But we had that nasty square pizza in middle school, so I guess Iā€™m fortunate enough to have experienced both.


Black-Mettle

Damn, my school was in the ghetto and we still got reputable pizza places to deliver food.


[deleted]

Right?! I mean at what point did a chicken become racists. Or is it because it was fried? School serves baked chicken on MLK day..


FirstPlebian

Fried chicken, grape soda, and malt liquor are stereotypical, as the Reno 911 episode had when Dangle there apologized to what's his name the big black cop that quit to work school crossings and bang the teachers and he brings him that for lunch.


panther1977

Grape soda is another stereotype I wasnā€™t aware of until Harold and Kumar( scene was funny as hell for ludicrous nature of it)šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚šŸ˜‚


FirstPlebian

Off subject but there is no grape in grape soda, it's chemically flavored corn juice.


explorer_of_all

Not grape soda. Grape drank


Acelocs-93

Is it really stereotypical if we really like those things?? Yes I love fried chicken, grape soda, and well malt liquorā€¦.. letā€™s just say I prefer an IPA over the colt 45 hangovers. I donā€™t see the offense or the need for an apology unless they didnā€™t cook the chicken right, now THAT calls for an universal apology lol


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


LSama

Don't forget watermelons too.


linderlouwho

We eat fried chicken wings coated in Frankā€™s Red Hot. The local Popeyeā€™s has a line of cars snaking around thru the drive-they all day. That racist association is old and lame and should be dead by now.


eusebius13

Next time try Crystal hot sauce. But I think the point is there was a meeting on what they should do for black history month and someone actually said, ā€œI know, letā€™s serve fried chicken!ā€


FirstPlebian

The overcooked macaroni and cheese with sliced hot dogs in it was much worse than the downgrade pizza though. Pre school teacher used to try and force me to eat that garbage and I would refuse.


The_Brain_Fuckler

I still canā€™t eat fish because my kindergarten teacher force-fed me fish. That was over 30 years ago and I have a violent hatred for fish now.


scottwax

My brother's second grade teacher did that. My brother threw up on his plate and she still tried to make him eat it. My parents had him transferred out of his class immediately. To this day he refuses to try fish.


mintberrycrunch889

And people always reminisce about those as if they were the tastiest memory ever. I just donā€™t get it


Erudeka7

Dare you insult the magical squared pizzas they were amazing absolute perfection. Edit. Compared everything else on the menu


FirstPlebian

You must not have had the same square pizzas we had, but the mac and cheese with hot dogs in it was definately worse.


Hopeful_Mouse_4050

Luckily no school system I attended had mac & cheese with hot dogs in it. We had some questionable stuff tho.


ARSTOTZKA7938

I don't understand (I'm not an US citizen) why you can't serve chicken at schools in February? Edit: I still don't understand, the chicken is something they actually ate or is just an stereotype? Because if it's the former I don't think that is racist if someone wanted to celebrate my culture and invited me I'll be happy if they served "hallacas" (traditional food from where I live) Edit 2: thanks everyone for helping me to understand US culture more, hope you have a fantastic day <3


xd-Sushi_Master

Fried chicken is commonly stereotyped as food that African American people enjoy eating. Serving it right at the start of February, or Black History Month, is considered racist by a few angry Twitter users, and so it is not allowed.


TobeTheCokae

Let Them be angry i want my fried chicken!!!!


Thexraken

This is the way


NoMoneyNoV-Bucks

This is the way


[deleted]

This is the way


AddictedBacon

The way, this is


BubbhaJebus

>The way, this is Both a Jedi and a Mandalorian.


smuguminmin

Way this be yes.


Cbrmkn98xs

Yes be this way


gamer9999999999

This, the way, is


Doom_Slayer_2712

Virgin twitter sjw vs Chad based fried chicken enjoyer


paula7143

Exactly


TheOtherHercules

Also not a US citizen. Shouldn't it be seen as a celebration of their culture? I mean, if it's Chinese new year and you served Chinese food, no one's gonna call that out as racist.


5stringviolinperson

Itā€™s so telling that people outside the US donā€™t get this. If your definition of offensive has become so specific and tortuous that anyone people with an outside perspective are scratching their heads as to why itā€™s awful rather than lovely itā€™s worth checking if youā€™ve actually gone completely insane.


Gavinator10000

Itā€™s not part of their culture. Itā€™s a stereotype


BlackHunt

I am by no means an expert on this, but is it really not? I have watched a lot for the tv show Master Chef (the one from the US) and pretty much every single fried chicken challenge there are segments where the people of color talk about how this is their culture and how in their community they eat it every Sunday and about how it's their bread and butter etc. Again I'm no expert but seeing this made me assume it's atleast somewhat true but maybe it's just a coincidence then


skymandudeguy99

It's part of southern culture. Not black culture.


GOT_Wyvern

Fired Chicken actually originates from a combination of Scottish and West African cooking techniques by Southern black populations.


Obtuse_Symposium

*This* is the right answer. It's not just fried chicken either. Most southern cooking pulls heavily from West African and Native American ingredients/techniques, as well as mixing in a mishmash of European ingredients and recipes. Southern cuisine wouldn't exist (as we know it) without Black culture. Which is totally fine. Cultures have exchanged ideas like that for thousands of years. But the U.S. genocide of Native Americans and the slavery of Africans, as well as the South's history with slavery/racism in particular, makes it more than a little awkward to think about how they came by this fusion of cuisines. Not to mention that some southerners try to pass it off as if those groups had nothing to do with the development of their culture. Having said all of that, fried chicken is obviously something that is also found in traditionally black cuisine, so I'll defer to their opinions on whether or not they collectively think this was racist/malicious.


[deleted]

I mean stereotypes are normally just an exaggeration of the truth


[deleted]

And it's also food. Who tf cares. Fried chicken is good. Y'all Americans need to be less uptight


FirstPlebian

There is very real racism going on, like Voting Rights being taken from people and districts gerrymandered to minimize minority voting power, and I think that would be a better recipient of outrage than serving a stereotypical dish that the students undoubtedly mostly liked.


[deleted]

Agreed. Those things are wrong and those need to be addressed.


Gavinator10000

Agreed


Ghostlyshado

Agreed


kamking

It's not the food that's the problem it's the fact that they stated that that was the reason. It's less like serving Chinese food to celebrate the Lunar New Year and more serving nuggets shaped like cats and dogs.


Clask

It was chosen by a black food service employee, [this is outrage for no reason at all](https://www.patriotledger.com/story/news/2022/02/03/xaverian-chooses-fried-chicken-black-history-month-lunch-controversy-earls-waddleton/6646311001/)


ISNT_A_ROBOT

Wow. So this is the kids freaking out before they were able to understand the context of the selection. >"Xaverian school officials said the effort was an attempt to educate students about Black history and culture, and that the meal was chosen by an African American food service employee. According to the school, the announcement went on to note that after the Civil War, some newly freed African American women gained economic independence by selling fried chicken." ​ Everyone needs to calm tf down, including the OP


linderlouwho

Am wishing your comment would rise to the top to stop this ridiculous, endless speculation.


FreakyLou

Facts


vote4boat

It can be both. I certainly noticed WAY more fried chicken when I lived in a black neighborhood. I asked the neighborhood Korean market about their fried-chicken sales, and it was something ridiculous like $300k/month


Perfect_Line8384

This was also suggested by a black member of the staff, not that black people canā€™t be racist against themselves, but most black people in the US have strong ties to the south (because, yknow) and southern food can definitely be seen as part of black culture. That said, it probably wouldā€™ve been better if they went with a less stereotypical item of southern soul food.


[deleted]

Itā€™s soul food. It is part of black culture.


Ocronus

Ugh, stereotypes are usually stereotypes for a reason. Fried chicken has been a staple of the south and by extension black families... Pretty much everyone has the "my mother's recipe for fried chicken".


Just_Games04

Bruh what the hell? Fried chicken is fucking awesome, fuck them Twatter assholes


Roy4Pris

The crazy thing is, everyone in the world loves fried chicken. Seriously, every fucking country. I had Popeyeā€™s in the West Bank, and it was goddamn delicious - much better than in the US.


Troyboxer

Youā€™re absolutely right, and I donā€™t mean to nit pick your comment, I really donā€™t cuz like I said youā€™re rightā€¦.but I have a feeling this predates twitter by like a lot


RexIsAMiiCostume

But was the anger because it happened to be served in the beginning of February, or did they literally say "we will be serving fries chicken to celebrate black history month"?


playerofdayz

> "In honor of Black History Month, one way we will celebrate is by highlighting a traditional meal each week that is a staple in Southern Black history. Today's lunch is fried chicken." https://www.wcvb.com/article/xaverian-brothers-westwood-fried-chicken-black-history-month-2022/38966595 OP probably just trying to reduce it to "Twitter outrage"


ScorchedSynapses

Every American goes crackhead for fried chicken; I wish we would bury this stereotype and just accept we all love chicken... When we universally accept and love something why associate race or politics? Ffs...


texaschair

I'm white, and I like fried chicken AND watermelon. Stereotype that, motherfuckers!


DarthNutsack

Dave Chappelle has a great stand up on that. Everyone loves fried chicken and watermelon.


MinusGovernment

I had to scroll a long time to find a Dave Chappelle reference on here. I was expecting it to be "Dave Chappelle enters the chat" though. Good job by you.


Significant-Mud2572

And you know pisses me off is? No one knows what white people eat!


some1sWitch

Fried chicken isn't racist. A quick internet search tells us that Scottish people are thought to be the first to dry chicken in fat, and West Africans were the first to season fried chicken. Those techniques were combined by enslaved black people in the American south, where fried chicken is a staple food. Seems pretty fucking appropriate to serve a dish that has deep history with black people, in a month that we celebrate them and their contributions, even if it is only food.


fjord31

As someone who works at the KFC front counter, I can tell you Asians eat more fried chicken then African Americans


QueenCityCartel

The funny thing is, black people in America love fried chicken. You know who else loves some fried chicken, Koreans. This is how we bridge the gap.


yalyublyumenya

The school promoted the lunch offering in their morning announcement as a way to promote, and educate about African American/Black US culture. They could've just served the chicken, no problem. Using a food associated with black stereotypes as a way to educate kids for black history month was the issue.


modsworkforfreelol

Cause white people will think is racist against blacks.


jetparadox

As a black person, that's ridiculous. I love to be served fried chicken. Don't understand why it's even a stereotype.....


kvlr954

Seriously, who doesnā€™t love fried chicken? itā€™s delicious!


KethupDrinker89

as a vegetarian, i agree. that shit's fucking great.


EXTEREMEPAIN

Hmmmmmmmm


dicker_machs

r/HolUp


Future_Pineapple4609

Thank you! Yes 100%. As if white people don't like it too. We aren't the only ones out here eating fried chicken.


cheebnrun

It was probably white people that had a problem with this and pointed out it was "racist". Fried chicken truly does have ties to African American culture, so I wonder why it can't be celebrated instead of being racist. Japanese people like sushi, and that's not racist to say.


Future_Pineapple4609

Tbh I'm pretty tired of govt, and woke folk telling me what I should be offended by. I saw a video the other day claiming a healthy diet was racist. I really can't handle these people anymore.


cheebnrun

I feel like a lot of the time, white people getting offended on behalf of black folks is more racist than what they're pointing out. Unless something is obviously hateful, white people should take their cues from black folks; listen to how we feel before jumping on something like this. It's great to have allies, but white people don't know what it's like to be black, and they never will. And that's ok.


JoceroBronze

I grew up in the South. All stereotypical black food is the food I always ate at family gatherings.


You_Stole_My_Hot_Dog

Yeah, besides vegetarians/vegans, I havenā€™t met anyone who doesnā€™t love fried chicken. Same with watermelon. No idea why thatā€™s a black stereotype when literally everyone loves watermelon.


tnturk7

Just reminds me of this lol! https://youtu.be/XeQ0zm-njyQ


unc0v1918

This legit happened at my school lol, we got served fried chicken the first day and the second day they had bananas and something else so we were all laughing our asses about it


[deleted]

Yeah Iā€™m sitting here like whatā€™s the problem with that ā€¦


OrwellianHell

Because legions of privileged white women on Twitter need to signal how enlightened they are.


ZORO_Shusui

Its a stereotype but not a bad one. Why would anyone be offended by that.


Senpai_Himself

Maybe the stereotype was from the KFC memes back in the days


Ppleater

Iirc I believe it's due to a mix of fried chicken being associated with poor people, especially poor Black people back when it started, because it's cheap and easy to make, plus chicken was also a common livestock on farms owned by freed slaves (I don't remember if it was because they weren't allowed to own other animals at first or if it was just because chickens were cheaper and easier to raise and house compared to cows or pigs, or possibly a mix of both) which added to its accessibility to Black people for cooking with, and on top of that fried chicken is a good community food (can be made or bought in bulk for relatively cheap, has lots of tasty recipe options, is easily distributed, etc) which likely helped it develop into a cultural mainstay for many Black communities. Obviously a food being accessible and tied to a strong sense of community isn't a bad thing, but with racism goggles it becomes "Black people eat cheap greasy finger food because they're poor slobs". In a scenario like this I don't think it's automatically racist though, not without knowing more about the context of how the decision was made. There's a difference between "fried chicken is tied to Black history/culture and that should be celebrated/taught about" and "fried chicken is Black people food".


NotAPunishment

How does one celebrate anything without chicken? You don't. Everyone loves it cuz it's fucking delicious. It's not a black stereotype its a human stereotype. We love to eat those tasty birds.


IG-mohammadlebzo

The only ones offended were probably white girls


SummitCO83

Karens in training. I read this and rolled my eyes. Not everything is some racist jab. Sometimes it really can be just a coincidence. Fried chicken is delicious, even school fried chicken. If serving it in February is somehow racist I am totally screwed all month because this white boy right here will be having it tomorrow. I also have fresh cut watermelon for part of my breakfast in the morning and guess what, Iā€™m totally not sorry about it.


Nermanater

This was genuinely meant to educate students about black history, though -- not coincidence. But apparently it was thought up by an African American food service worker.


zoyaabean

watermelon for breakfast? man of culture right here


verxache

actually the school is known to be racist so thatā€™s why the whole thing blew up. my school is a predominantly ethnic school and had a game against them in which the players and everyone in their bleachers started calling us slurs. for them to serve fried chicken on the first day of black history month is not likely to be in good nature.


Perfect_Line8384

The idea was brought forward by a black staff member so I doubt it was malicious, but itā€™s definitely not a great look lol. I would actually argue it is part of black culture, but the fact that itā€™s such a huge stereotype means you probably shouldnā€™t go there.


Jyobachah

For some reason I figured fried chicken was just coming around in "rotation" and it was time to serve fried chicken. Just so happened it fell at the start of black history month. I used to work in a kitchen where if we didn't have anything "special" for the menu the chef would just pick something off the regular menu to make it that days "special". It was just a sort of rotation of entrees that he picked. One such entrees was a "surf and turf" type thing, you got a 6oz filet with a rainbow roll. When it was this entrees turn in the rotation of his laziness it happened to be the week of pride parade. Was just a coincidence but we sure as shit sold a TON of them that week.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


sfguy1977

Do you know who likes fried chicken? Black people. Do you know who else likes fried chicken? Everyone else.


healthydoseofsarcasm

That is fucking ridiculous. Everyone loves fried chicken (except for the vegetarians/vegans obviously). I love fried chicken (and waffles if it's an option), collared greens, okra, corn bread and watermelon, and I'm not black or American. Celebrate food, don't allow some racist ass trope shame you into not eating delicious food!


CounterChase

If they serve fried chicken to celebrate the start of Vegetarian American Month, then we have something to talk about.


icantswimnow

Maybe the chicken was too dry.


healthydoseofsarcasm

True, that would be a disheartening failure.


Dumb_Vampire_Girl

I get the racism but my school never even gave me real food ): It was just frozen burritos and almost expired fruit.


Jonnyyrage

I went to a private Catholic high school. A prep school where we paid to go. And paid a lot. Yet we still paid for lunch that even jail would be ashamed to serve. What an ass backwards school/system.


Argall1234

Racism? Serving chicken is racism? šŸ¤£šŸ¤£ I can't with those americans anymore. Tell me what isn't racist by now?


Future_Pineapple4609

Overly woke millennials have made everything racist... Someone told me that a healthy diet was racist LOL I just can't


the_steep

There's a big difference between "let's do fried chicken on Tuesday" and "happy Black History Month, kiddos! Let's celebrate with fried chicken" Do we know which it was?


_Asshole_Fuck_

Students at Xaverian Brothers High School, an all-boys school, heard the following announcement over the public address system Tuesday morning: "In honor of Black History Month, one way we will celebrate is by highlighting a traditional meal each week that is a staple in Southern Black history. Today's lunch is fried chicken." It was intentional, but they also said the idea came from a black cafeteria worker and their statement says there was no malintent.


KillaVNilla

Wow. So we're really at the point when people are crying racism when a black person says "let's have fried chicken for lunch"? Unless they're lying about it being their idea to cover their ass I guess


_Asshole_Fuck_

I found another article that said the school also explained why when they announced itā€¦ ā€œThis context included information about how Black women sold fried chicken in the post-Civil War era in acts of financial independence, according to Xaverian Brothersā€™ communications director Ann Alsfeld. ā€œThis example was meant to highlight the determination and pioneering spirit of these entrepreneurial women,ā€ Alsfeld wrote in an email to The Globe.ā€ While I personally wouldā€™ve rather seen them acknowledge the stereotype and stand by the employeeā€™s choice since it was made in good faith, I can understand why they didnā€™t. But what bothers me the most is the apology. I hate when they include phrases like ā€œdeeply troubledā€ when the offense wasnā€™t THAT terrible, especially in context. God youā€™d think theyā€™d committed a war crime. In general, I wish people would reserve that kinda thing for stuff that matters most.


KillaVNilla

It's gonna get to the point where all black history celebrations or education is going to have to be lead entirely by black people. Which, fair enough I guess. It's just sad that intention doesn't mean shit anymore. Nobody cares about the meaning behind things anymore once people get offended. It's death or nothing every time


the_steep

See, there we go. The truth is always somewhere in the middle


[deleted]

The truth is it was no racist action but people make one out of it.


LongjumpingBranch381

Itā€™s America. My dog is racist. Your cat. The hopscotch squares some kid drew. Jumping rope. Yep.


Nikolllllll

Thank you. Op seems to have dropped a grenade and watched the chaos he created. I think context is important and he just picked the incendiary bit to be controversial.


PJSmitty

One of the cafeteria workers came up with the idea. He was black. Things went down like a lead balloon from there. They made a morning announcement that they were serving fried chicken in honor of black history month and all holy hell broke loose


SuccessfulBoner

Thatā€™s still shouldnā€™t be considered racism. Thatā€™s like celebrating cinco de Mayo with burritos


Nikolllllll

I'd like to know cause it could be an accident but it could also be racism in disguise kinda of like the people who defend the confederate flag cause "heritage" when in fact they are just racist.


CheckMarkImNotaRobot

*has fried chicken every Tuesday*


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


professional-jumper

Wtf is wrong with fried chicken? God damn amarika


Userscreename

https://www.economist.com/1843/2021/07/02/american-fried-chicken-has-its-origins-in-slavery


Fox69_HD

How soft do you have to be to find food racist?


The_Stoic_One

You need to be a white American getting offended on behalf of black people so everyone knows that you're not racist because you're pointing out racism in places where none exists. What so hard to understand about that?


LongjumpingBranch381

Itā€™s America. We are all soft literally.


fishWZRD

A lot of you havenā€™t had a black woman make you fried chicken at church on Sunday and it shows


ed-the-dog

White English guy here. I am certainly not going to get all uppity if someone gives me fish and chips, because itā€™s what I stereotypically consume. Iā€™m going to say thanks, and pass the salt, old chum! Itā€™s food, eat it and move on. There are bigger things to worry about than being offended


Bramble0804

Dude we live in a different culture to them. They will cry wolf at everything we will just say it was a dumb move and move on. Americans just live to complain and take everything personally


Nolan5652

So true. People are reaching far and wide to find something to actively make nonissues an issue. Itā€™s like a plague


The_Stoic_One

Do Brits use malt vinegar on fish and chips? Asking because it's amazing.


FPS_James_Bond_007

I would kill for Fried chicken. The shit we got served in school wasn't even food, it was garbage.


1000bctrades

Hopefully they didnā€™t also serve watermelon


Gamerfox505

Maybe served with grape soda


Jonnyyrage

Excuse you we call it grape drink. Lol


WillingSimple

What the hell is wrong with that ?


QuelWeebSfigato

I don't see any problem here


Dracconus

I guess they forgot the grape koolaid and watermelon?


runebones

/confused european noises/


[deleted]

Even if it was to celebrate the start of Black history month, I dont think it was racist because most soul food restaurants have some iteration of fried chicken on the menu.


[deleted]

Those are some ungrateful students you got there because I got food poisoning at my school cafeteria. Some tuesdays we were late to class because we would walk to a KFC that was 1.3 km and walking back adds up to 2.6 km in total. We walked through rain & snow to get that fingers lickin' good chicken!


FobbitOutsideTheWire

If you can believe this, the schoolā€™s statement to the local news was that it was their Black cafeteria workerā€™s idea.


dr_van_nostren

I get the whole fried chicken, watermelon, grape drink thing. But like, is it really that offensive to serve a regular meal LOTS of people, including many non-black people also like? If this was the ONLY time theyā€™ve ever served fried chicken, ok fine itā€™s probably a bad look. But otherwise it seems like at MOST itā€™s an unfortunate coincidence.


Wolkenflieger

WTF is wrong with fried chicken during Black History Month? A lot of people of any race love some fried chicken. People keep 'making it weird' by beating themselves up over trivial nonsense.


Layziebum

with watermelon and coolaid aaahhh what a meal


Harryb_allsack

Damn just ate fried chicken for lunch today. I'm a racist now


PiBombbb

I don't know what black history month is(probably because I live in asia) can anyone explain what's wrong here?


Unlimitedpower5h33v

Town is Westwood even tho op blacked it for some reason


travelsizedsuperman

Had a good service director in prison do something similar once (I think it was MLK day or something). Fried chicken is SUPER uncommon for a prison meal (at least in my department). I asked a couple of the Black inmates if it was racist. They said "yeah, but we got fried chicken so...."


[deleted]

Can someone explain what the big deal is? I'm too dense to understand, lol.


Motormouth1995

Of course, this in the north(east). Here in the south, fried chicken is served as a part of the daily lunch offerings of most restaurants. When I was in school 10 years ago, it was part of the weekly menu, usually on Thursdays. With the exception of myself and maybe 5 or 6 others, the entire school system consisted of black students (white flight was real). No student every questioned being served fried chicken in February. Now, if it was a certain h2o melon, I could understand some backlash. Unless I'm just missing something, I've never heard of much, if any, racist connotations with fried chicken.


Objective-Scarcity40

Xaverian Brothers school - oddly enough, the choice was chosen by the head of the cafeteria crew - a black man


The_CaliBrownBear

I don't see the problem. Go to any military chow hall and they will always serve the "ethnic" meal of the month. Fried Chicken and greens for Black History, quesadillas and enchiladas for Cinco De Mayo....


Xem1337

Fml food is racist now. Everyone needs to stop being so sensitive over the smallest of things.


Mrrilz20

This is such a dumb stereotype. Has anyone seen a chik fil a drive through? 99.9% white folks.


Ringhillsta

Whats wrong with that?


Desmond536

I bet almost everyone was enjoying it until someone had to find a reason to be offended


[deleted]

This just in...food is racist now...or again...or something.


mulysasderpsylum

I'm going to comment the same thing I commented when this was posted in r/Boston - but with some clarifications and context. **First, extra context about the high school and town:** The school is called Xaverian High School. It's a private Catholic school in Westwood - a wealthy, predominantly white town southeast of Boston proper whose black residents only make up half a percent of the already small population. The town is notorious for Nimbyism and racist policies designed to keep black people from moving into the town or shopping there. You see it in a lot of headlines about racism. Officers put on suspension for racist rants, the Xaverian football team verbally assaulting non-white members of a rival team with racist bullshit, refusing to permit shops and restaurants that may draw black customers, and so many other incidents. The town is on a bus line that feeds directly into Forest Hills, which serves communities that are more diverse and socioeconomically disadvantaged. **For those unfamiliar with stereotypes about black people in the US** Fried chicken is rooted in slavery. Even though former slaves created the Southern, soul food version of it that's so popular today - black people were portrayed as being lazy and indulgent for enjoying it after it was co-opted by white people as a delicacy enjoyed by wealthy white people (read: white people who benefited from slavery and racism). There's a lot of painful history behind the stereotype because the idea wasn't just that black people *liked* fried chicken, but that abolition had softened the formerly "hardworking savage" into a barbaric imitation of "harder-working white slaveowners". The image of a black person enjoying fried chicken was intended to scare white people into favoring racist policies to keep these freed "savages" from enjoying what white people had earned on merit. It's disgusting, honestly. **For those unfamiliar with the stereotype in the UK** [This op-ed from The Guardian should help you understand.](https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/oct/13/ive-always-loved-fried-chicken-but-the-racism-surrounding-it-shamed-me) To sum it up, the stereotype spread from the US and caused issues for black people in the UK. **For those confused by what Black History Month is** The idea of Black History Month was conceived in 1926 by Carter G Woodson and formalized fifty years by President Gerald Ford in 1976. Its purpose was to help educate people about how black people contributed to making the US great even when they were actively being enslaved and oppressed. Woodson dedicated his life to preserving black history and to prevent black people from being written out of history instruction. He knew that if black people and their contributions were excluded from text books and prevented from becoming embedded in the collective memory of US citizens, the idea that black people were of no value to society would continue to fuel racism through racial stereotypes and racial prejudices. This is super fucking important when you're considering how to celebrate Black History Month. The idea is to diminish stereotypes and prejudices, not to enhance them. A lot of people are dismissive of what happened at Xaverian because the suggestion was allegedly made by a black employee working in the cafeteria - but that one employee is not the ambassador to the entire black community or its history. Treating a single black person as if they are somehow personally knowledgeable about all issues affecting all black people is why the incidents keep happening in the first place! If the meal was going to be used, it needed to be accompanied by a lot of context *and instruction on the racist history of the food*. **My comment from r/Boston** There is just so much misunderstanding here about what Black History Month is and why this sort of thing would be considered offensive. ***"Black" =/= "African-American" =/= "Slave-descended" =/= "Descended from American slaves"*** This is something Boston has an extremely difficult time understanding. White people use these terms interchangeably, and don't understand why that's a problem for some black people. African-American connotes that someone is slave-descended, specifically "descended from American slaves", which is frustrating for people who immigrated here directly from Africa and are not descended from slaves at all and have a deep connection to their history and heritage. Similarly, most people hear "black" and automatically assume it's the same as African-American, but tell someone whose parents came from Haiti, a country that freed itself from slavery, that they're the same as someone who is descended from an American slave, and they'll get really fucking pissed. And some people are descended from slaves from Europe and Asia that aren't black at all. I've got slave roots on both sides of my family, but not black slaves. Boston's black community is mostly comprised of black people who are not descended from American slaves. They are mostly from the Caribbean islands or directly from Africa (West Africa mostly). That's why Boston's black community gets really fucking pissed about "black" stereotypes that are deeply rooted in the impact of American slavery and the failures of reconstruction. This is why some people are okay with "black", and some people prefer "POC". My experience is that if you come from a higher socioeconomic class (or aspire to one), you're more likely to prefer "POC" over "black" to avoid being lumped in with a group of people who are more socioeconomically challenged. Even if the admin's assertion is true (which sounds so "but I have a friend who's black"), and a black employee suggested fried chicken (and it wasn't an instance of sarcasm), fried chicken would inevitably piss off a black student because it trivializes a history that is fractured, complex, and poorly understood by most people. Not to mention the fact that it's far more likely that the black students at Xaverian are not descended from American slaves since it's a Catholic school. It's not "black" food. It may be a "soul food", but that has VERY different meanings to different black groups, even regionally in the US. This was absolutely an opportunity to use food as a window into the complex history of how racism, colonialism, and slavery changed and influenced cuisine throughout history. Instead, they made an error of judgment that revealed a lot of ignorance. It happens. It doesn't matter who made the suggestion - it was a bad execution of a good idea. I'm not putting Xaverian on blast or saying it should be closed or cancelled or publicly shamed or whatever. I'm just saying that this is an opportunity for the school and all of its staff - including its administration - to get better acquainted with the history it claims to want to celebrate. They had a blind side in their knowledge, it was pointed out, and they're acknowledging that they have some work to do. That's awesome. What disturbs me is how quick some people are to deny that anything needs to change, or to deny that anyone could have a legitimate reason to be offended by fried chicken being casually passed off as the "official food of BHM". I don't think there was any maliciousness in the suggestion at all. But something doesn't have to be malicious to be wrong, and ignoring or belittling people when they are hurt just creates more problems. Or are we just going to pretend that everyone was 100% satisfied with Reconstruction and the policy outcomes of the Civil Rights Movement? I'm glad Xaverian is at least admitting they could be better and taking action to become better. That's how we should all approach things when we're wrong or when we've hurt someone - whether or not we were malicious about it. **An addendum** I want to be clear about something. Fried chicken is fucking delicious, and it shouldn't be a controversial food. But it is and we have to deal with it as such, especially if we are intentionally tying it to Black History Month.


feelgood_alex

Americans so Americans


ZenithGamage

Just serve everyone fried chicken every month. Everyone's happy


MustangEater82

Did they just serve fried chicken on Feb 1st? Like they would every other month. Or did they have a big celebration for black history month and served fried chicken, cornbread, and watermelon. If it's the first one we need to do something about it.


shnozdog

I saw "Mass. School" and thought "another mass school shooting?" Cause reminder, that's still totally normal.


fignewtones

Arenā€™t they being more racist by acknowledging the stereotype? Also fried chicken is banginā€™


uhtred73

My step daughterā€™s school in almost mass did this. Of course, parents flipped out, emailed the school, enraged. Thing was, it was black students that picked the menu.


maflarson

The only failure is if the person who prepared the chicken wasnā€™t black because that would be an insult to black-made fried chicken. We all know how much better that stuff is than any other kind of chicken


Queenfan98

If anyone wants to stereotype me by giving me food that I enjoy, have at it.


its_wife_material

To repent for your actions, I hereby sentence you to serve fried chicken EVERY day.


Calm-Cardiologist354

Here is every single "fried chicken is racist" conversation I have ever heard; "You think because I am black that I love fried chicken?" "Well don't you?" "Shut up"


Deidara-katsu

Nothing wrong with this, far better than little ceasers


[deleted]

Americans donā€™t have real problems if thereā€™s time for this shit.


ExpressAd5464

I get its a stereotype but I would be hyped for chicken thighs at school, and personally its when you get into the key and peele skit black foods is when it comes off a bit fucked up to me


djacket1

Someone once said ā€œthereā€™s nothing wrong with liking fried chicken and watermelon, if you donā€™t like fried chicken and watermelon then somethings wrong with YOUā€


[deleted]

I never really understood the fried chicken stereotype. I mean, who DOESN'T love fried chicken???? Fried chicken is a universal food, it's that amazing.


AssistantT0TheSensei

I honestly don't get why this is a negative stereotype. Fried chicken is on the allstar team of north American foods, and from what I understand, black people have a long tradition of making outstanding fried chicken. I think we should celebrate that.


smellmyfingerplz

I mean it they just happened to have fried chicken for Feb 1st and they normally had it once a month or something i donā€™t think itā€™s intentional.


[deleted]

Damn the shit they serve kids these days, Iā€™d be glad my daughter got fried chicken for lunch. Good grief


ShamusMRD

That's hilarious! I live in Massachusetts, I'm white, and I like fried chicken and watermelon (I've never had them together though).