Black people need to stop allowing others to make fun of our culture and embrace it. Certain cuisines are indigenous to the black experience in America. I feel as if the chef’s meal was a valid representation.

@ Linda, I also agree if it was called something else that it wouldn’t have caused such a stir. When race is added on to anything, it often raises eyebrows because what would be a “White Menu”? If the menu was related to a region instead of a race/ethnicity, I doubt there would be an issue.

@ Lindsey, agreed, agreed. I mentioned what a menu for “Haitian History Month” would possibly look like as a way to show that I understand the chef’s sense of pride in being able to share with her co-workers what her definition of Black/African-American food is. I definitely agree that Haitians are more of an ethnically homogeneous group, so it would be easier to create a menu that the majority of us would feel represents our cuisine.

“All I wanted to do was make a meal that everyone would enjoy — and that I eat myself. Questlove, who I serve every day and who enjoys my food, requested the neck bone [cooked in] the black-eyed peas and fried chicken, then got off the line, saying, ‘This is racist.

The next thing you know, people were taking pictures of the sign and asking all the other black people in the cafeteria if this was racist. They said that it wasn’t.”

http://perezhilton.com/#ixzz0egkXraYp

My heart goes out to the cook, for real. This is turning into a much bigger issue than it really is.

I completely understand someone who would not take offense to the menu. It is very true that historically and currently, those foods listed are part of southern African American culture. It is one part of the African American exitstence. This is what it is and cannot be denied.

I also understand someone who would take offense to the menu. AAs are a vast group of people and this would be another instance of pigeonholing them into one group, one idealogy or one practice.

The root of the problem is this however: it’s another instance of where, somehow, shame and discomfort has been created around things that are “black” or related to AAs. In the past and present, this sort of cuisine has been used to ridicule and mock AAs. Eventually, it’s positive siginificance and meaning has been stripped away and replaced with negativity and apprehension.

So in understanding the past and present social contexts, I completely see and understand how someone may shy away from that sort of representation or association.

Lastly, the comparison of AAs to any other group is incongruous. To compare a vast group of people with all sorts of differences whose relationship with their home-America- is none other than shaky TO Haitians – an ethnically homogenous and proud group of people does not match at all. I can go on and go about this, but i’ll just leave it at that.

Ps. love the blog! keep the posts coming!

Also, I hate how when something offensive happens there is instant “outrage” yet it doesn’t usually result in a real discussion. If we aren’t able to talk about things and break down the issues, and not just amongst ourselves but cross culturally, we will never really make any progress.