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Popeyes Sandwich Strikes a Chord for African-Americans
NY Times ^ | November 5, 2019 | John Eligon

Posted on 11/07/2019 6:36:38 AM PST by rightwingintelligentsia

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The videos of mind-numbing first bites and long lines, the celebratory memes and fawning reviews: The return of the Popeyes chicken sandwich on Sunday has met with the same social-media frenzy that first greeted it last summer.

But embedded in many of the catchy memes and witty messages is not just an affection for spicy seasoning and crisp breading. There’s also a sentiment that Popeyes has struck a special chord for African-Americans and anybody who grew up eating black soul food — specifically, that its celebrated sandwich tastes like something that could have come from a black home kitchen.

One Twitter user, @RocBoy_Mel, wrote Sunday that he did not know whose “grandma” made the sandwiches, “but I finally got my hands on one today and I was very impressed.”

Reactions like that are no accident: Popeyes has aggressively marketed itself to African-Americans, and many of its restaurants are in black communities.

In a Facebook post in August, Nadiyah Ali, a nurse from Katy, Texas, compared the sandwich to a rival’s: Chick-fil-A’s version, she wrote, tasted as if it were made “by a white woman named Sarah who grew up around black people.” The Popeyes sandwich, she added, tasted “like it was cooked by an older black lady named Lucille.”

Black people were saying they liked the chicken not just for its taste, but also for the feelings of home cooking it evoked. It was the type of chicken they could take to a family potluck and not get a side-eye.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Food
KEYWORDS: blacks; cfa; chicken; popeyes; sandwich
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The article leaves out mentions of chaos in lines for the sandwiches.
1 posted on 11/07/2019 6:36:38 AM PST by rightwingintelligentsia
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

Why does everything have to be about race? I grew up on fried chicken too and I can’t get any whiter (German/Irish heritage = pale skin). My mom and granny made some kick ass fried chicken.


2 posted on 11/07/2019 6:39:00 AM PST by al_c (Democrats: Party over Common Sense)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

Now, if I were to make a casual observation along the lines of: “Those black folk sure love their fried chicken!” I bet I’d get in a lot of trouble for being a racist.

I’d like to live in a country where everyone (I mean: everyone) can call a spade a spade.


3 posted on 11/07/2019 6:39:21 AM PST by ClearCase_guy (If White Privilege is real, why did Elizabeth Warren lie about being an Indian?)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

Translation:

Everything black is awesome.

Everything white is awful.


4 posted on 11/07/2019 6:39:45 AM PST by americas.best.days... ( Donald John Trump has pulled the sword from the stone.)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

,, Side Eye!


5 posted on 11/07/2019 6:39:53 AM PST by Big Red Badger (Despised by the Despicable!)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

this whole article...something not quite right about it.
Waiting for the blow back to the NYT.


6 posted on 11/07/2019 6:40:01 AM PST by stylin19a (2016 - Best.Election.Of.All.Times.Ever.In.The.History.Of.Ever)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

I think the problem is who is in the line, not what’s at the end of it.


7 posted on 11/07/2019 6:40:20 AM PST by gundog ( Hail to the Chief, bitches!)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia
The article leaves out mentions of chaos in lines for the sandwiches.

Chaos? I find that hard to believe. /s

8 posted on 11/07/2019 6:41:16 AM PST by SIDENET
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To: rightwingintelligentsia
...tasted as if it were made “by a white woman named Sarah who grew up around black people.” The Popeyes sandwich, she added, tasted “like it was cooked by an older black lady named Lucille.”

Reverse that and she'd be called a racist.

Hey, wait. I'm white and I like Popeye's food. Am I culturally appropriating them?

9 posted on 11/07/2019 6:41:45 AM PST by jeffc (The U.S. media are our enemy)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

The ‘Air Jordans’ of Sandwiches.


10 posted on 11/07/2019 6:41:46 AM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

Sorry, but fried chicken is a fave for lots of folks.
We could perhaps call it a “diversity” meal.

As usual, the NYT displays a level of childishness and situational non-awareness of a magnitude that is hard to describe.

Modern journalists. Think of them when you are depressed and want someone to feel superior to.


11 posted on 11/07/2019 6:41:56 AM PST by Da Coyote (is)
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To: americas.best.days...

Kill Whitey.


12 posted on 11/07/2019 6:42:07 AM PST by Army Air Corps (Four Fried Chickens and a Coke)
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To: gundog
I think the problem is who is in the line, not what’s at the end of it.

I'm trying to imagine a line where EVERYONE is cutting in line to the front.

13 posted on 11/07/2019 6:42:39 AM PST by SIDENET
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

Well Popeye is white, after all.


14 posted on 11/07/2019 6:43:21 AM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia
Popeye's is an okay fast food joint. The article is condescending and a little insulting to the real soul food joints out there. "Lucille" never probably never made boneless chicken sandwiches either. She would have been more likely to serve in bone fried chicken with spices and a side of greens and rice.

Maybe Popeye's founder identifies as "Lucille", but I doubt it.


15 posted on 11/07/2019 6:43:39 AM PST by Dr. Sivana (There is no salvation in politics.)
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To: All

The only people they see eating fried chicken in upper Manhattan are black, therefore it’s a black food.


16 posted on 11/07/2019 6:44:29 AM PST by newnhdad (Our new motto: USA, it was fun while it lasted.)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia
From https://www.nytimes.com/by/john-eligon:

John Eligon is a national correspondent covering race, based in Kansas City. His work documents the nuances of America’s struggle with race issues, from the protest movement over police violence to the changing face of the nation’s cities and suburbs.

17 posted on 11/07/2019 6:45:14 AM PST by real saxophonist (Yeah, well, y'know that's just like, uh... your opinion, man.)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

I was wondering how anyone could write an article like this. I remember a White responsible for serving fried chicken to Blacks. He had his a$$ reamed and of course was fired. A teacher suggested eating watermelon because it is nutritious, etc. She was lambasted for that and called racist.

Then I searched for John Eligon using Google. Sure enough. I found out the reason why John Eligon was able to write such an article. Immunity. Protective pigmentation.


18 posted on 11/07/2019 6:45:47 AM PST by I want the USA back (The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it. Orwell.)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

“...tasted as if it were made “by a white woman named Sarah who grew up around black people.”

“...tasted “like it was cooked by an older black lady named Lucille.”

New York Times publishes frivolity.


19 posted on 11/07/2019 6:49:10 AM PST by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: rightwingintelligentsia

Some people need to get a hobby. God forbid that my life someday will be within the orbit of a piece of chicken on bread.


20 posted on 11/07/2019 6:51:09 AM PST by freedomjusticeruleoflaw (Strange that a man with his wealth would have to resort to prostitution.)
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