Good Question

(WCCO) An ad for a Minnesota grocery chain has stimulated a provocative discussion about race, identity and food. Is it appropriate to put collard greens and chicken on sale as part of a Black History Month promotion?

"Aw man, that's messed up," said one African-American man in North Minneapolis.

"I didn't really feel any offense to it, but it definitely put my antennas up and I was like, wow," said another man.

"Does this reinforce a stereotype that shouldn't be reinforced? Or is this OK?" asked David Brauer, a reporter for MinnPost.com.

Brauer first wrote about the ad in the context of a media story.

"I'm not sure we need to send anybody to jail or cultural prison for this…. But I think highlighting frying chicken and collard greens seems stereotypic to me," said Brauer.

"In no way was this ad intended to offend African Americans or anybody else," explained Vivian King, Director of Public Affairs for Roundy's, Rainbow's corporate owner.

"On the contrary, this ad was intended to celebrate Black History Month and African American culture by sharing with our customers some of the contributions African Americans have made to the grocery industry," explained King.

The ad talked about George Washington Carver's role in developing products from peanuts and Lloyd Augustus Hall revolutionizing the meatpacking industry.

Essentially, King said this was an example of targeted marketing. The sale prices were only good at Rainbow stores in Minneapolis, St. Paul and Richfield. The ad only went to those communities, and at those stores, greens and frying chicken are popular items.

"As an African-American myself, my grandmother makes great greens," said King. "It's not the only thing on the page, there are Bay Scallops on sale on the page as well."

Many African-Americans we spoke with acknowledged the role of chicken and greens in their cultural history.

"That's what we grew up on, there's a lot of truth to it," said one man.

"This is ridiculous. It's not racism, its celebrating a culture," explained Alexis on Jason's WCCO DeBlog.

And virtually no one complains when tortillas and Corona goes on sale for Cinco de Mayo, or when corned beef and cabbage are on special for St. Patrick's Day.

But Brauer pointed out there is a difference.

"Black History Month isn't like that. And maybe this is place where they get it on a little shaky ground. It's not a food-oriented holiday," he said.

In 1997, Fuzzy Zoeller got into trouble during the Masters Golf tournament, telling reporters that they should congratulate Tiger Woods when he wins, but urging him not to order fried chicken "or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve" for the Champions Dinner the next year.

There is a history of White Americans using food as a racist weapon. Remember the image of the Little Black Sambo eating watermelon?

"Not sure I would call it racist using the formal definition of racism, but I find it offensive and shallow," wrote a black female professor Rutgers University at at Jason's Blog. "BHM was conceived as a way to celebrate/acknowledge blacks' contribution to the country. Fried chicken and collard greens seems like a woeful representation of that."

Roundy's spokeswoman said her advertising department "will be more mindful" on these issues in the future.

"There's a fine line in these things," said King.

(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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