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Stop Dictating How Black People Should Spend Their Stimulus Checks
Respectability politics make it hard for us to just live free
The writing was on the wall late last summer. Back in August 2019, Popeye’s created a fried chicken sandwich complete with a pickle, mayo, Louisiana hot sauce, and Cajun seasoning on a brioche bun that instantly became a phenomenon. Business Insider called it the “fast food item that defined 2019.” By November, Forbes stated that Popeye’s “reaped” a staggering $65 million in marketing value from the phenomenon — and Black people were the reason for the sandwich’s lucrativeness. There wasn’t a day that passed during that hot and sticky month where one could avoid a meme, tweet, or taped review about the tastiness of that sandwich and because of that, Popeye’s sold out of it in less than a month.
The criticism was swift, however, and it was coming from within our house. Ja Rule excoriated Black people for playing into stereotypes, the O’Jays lead singer Eddie Levert condemned those who ate the sandwich as a bad reflection of the African American community, and Janelle Monáe suggested that there be a voting booth at each Popeye’s location (to which she later apologized for the comment). None of this is surprising as Black people and fried chicken have been negatively linked to each other since the 1915 film…
