Fried Chicken: a story of race and identity

The Food Programme

BBC

Arts, Food

4.4 • 943 Ratings

🗓️ 14 August 2022

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Since the American Civil War to the present day, fried chicken has been used to create negative stereotypes of black people. These stereotypes and this history has seeped into today’s consciousness which has established a complicated relationship between chef and author Melissa Thompson and the food item. It’s a relationship which she wrote about and she joins Jaega Wise to explore her feelings and attitudes towards this fried dish.

Food historian Adrian Miller looks at the presence of fried chicken on the plantation fields in the Deep South and explains how the racial connotations of fried chicken and black people materialised in America.

We hear from Dr Kehinde Andrews who details the importance of having shared collective experiences of food and culture within communities. Dr Andrews explains how this experience strengthens the connection amongst people when faced in situations of being ‘othered’.

Melissa pairs up Maureen Tyne at her Caribbean food establishment in Brixton, South London. Maureen shows Melissa how she makes her special recipe for fried chicken and shares her love for the meal.

Presenters: Jaega Wise and Melissa Thompson Produced by Candace Wilson

Transcript

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0:56.0	Everybody wants to claim it, right? Because it's one of the most glorious and delicious things on the planet.
1:01.0	Welcome to the Food Book and That Place for Hungry Mind.
1:04.8	I'm Jager Wise and today I'm looking at all things fried chicken.
1:08.8	But specifically it's links and relationships with the black community.
1:14.6	This humble fried item found in many of fast food place has a history which has been ingrained over many centuries.
1:22.1	That's not even a question. We eat fried chicken. We like fried chicken. We go not even a question.
1:23.0	We eat fried chicken.
1:24.0	We like fried chicken.
1:25.0	We go and have fried chicken relatively regularly.
1:26.0	It's just part of what we do and it never would, we don't even think about it.
	...

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