Religion and Chicken: The Master's New Whip

Nowadays I’m sure almost most people are familiar with the outrage of Chick-fil-A condemning of gay marriage, or homosexuality in general. Familiarizing myself with this issue over a year ago I admit that the current rise of outrage and media coverage is quite overrated but then I saw the picture shown above. Such a photo speaks volumes about the African American community. Why are we always the portrayed as the lap dogs of wealthy white patrons?  Now I’m sure that Chick-fil-A will never publicly endorse such a photo but I’m also quite sure that a picture of white church goers raising their poisonous chicken contents to the sky won’t surface on the internet any time soon. My issue with the image touches on two key points: The stereotype of black and chicken and also the Black community tie to Christianity.

I will keep my rant about blacks and chicken to a minimum, as I’m sure everyone is familiar with the connection. My only question is why? Do music, recorded fist fights, and the high crime rates of our community not hurt us enough that we have to pose for pictures praising chicken? Okay, you might say that the picture isn’t about glorifying the chicken, it’s about supporting the chain and though you may be right, the picture does paint an image that isn’t easily escaped.

Now onto my second issue; time has continued to prove that whatever issue the Christian based church seems to have with a subject, most of the black community is sure to jump on the bandwagon. My issue with the black community backing the decision of the Chick-fil-A is how once again the bible is being used as a weapon. Not too long ago the bible was being used as a weapon against the African American community. Sure it allowed us to get married, but it also enslaved and humiliated us. I may not be the most religious person in the world, but I thought the purpose of Christianity was to spread love not to oppress.

I’m not going to tell anyone what to spend their own money on; but I will point out that it is foolish to support any person/event/venue that isn’t supportive of you. Chick-fil-A’s true intentions will come to light soon, and when it does I hope a lot of people reevaluate their faith and their beliefs. The picture prompts an interesting question, “have the oppressed become the oppressor” or are we slowly sliding backwards.