We've been down this racist stereotyping road a thousands times. You know, blacks don't swim, blacks like watermelons, blacks don't tan, blacks blacks blacks. The world prides itself on knowing the ins and outs of black life and consciousness. Most of the time the world is wrong, but hey, the effort to pigeonhole black folks deserves some praise. Right? I mean so many people spend their lives [and money] objectifying and having fun with blackness somebody out there should offer some appreciation.
So here we go again. A German company is marketing a new delicacy called Obama Chicken Fingers. And no it's not a fried cuisine meant to poke fun at how black folks love them some fried chicken. Or how America's first black president is possibly a finger-licking cholesterol-seeking man of color with a hidden "ethnic" agenda. The company insists Obama Chicken Fingers pays homage to America and its love of that plump feathered fowl and that's it. Now I was certainly born close to yesterday, but I believe that explanation just as much as I believe they're building colonies on Mars to relocate colored people. Germans and other Europeans love American media. Prefer it. They're particularly fascinated by black folks and how they're manipulated and showcased. Case in point, while in France a taxi driver asked if I was a boxer or a drug dealer. When I told him I was a school teacher, his jaw dropped. You know, because every European knows black men can only be athletes and drug dealers according to exported TV.
Here's my ultimate wish: Stop with the wide-eyed, innocent game while pimping black. And if you are going to sell Obama Chicken Fingers, well, market them as baked chicken. They're much healthier. And don't let me have to say it again!
Keith Josef Adkins is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter and social commentator.