Chain Reaction: Questlove and the NBC Cafeteria Menu
By Special Correspondent Arturo R. García
Hmm HR?
- caption for this image, as posted by Questlove, drummer for The Roots, on Twitpic, Feb. 5
When i saw the sign i have to admit….i was DYING. like literally LMAO!!! maybe it was juxtaposition of the words: collard & history, jalapeno & honor, fried, black and nbc?? maybe it was the acculturative stress of having 28 days for this food that represents you but come march…pot roast for life kid!
Whatever the case, I found this funny and when I find something funny I like to let the world in on the joke (twitpic anyone??). in NO way did i ever think that this was some cruel insensitive joke on behalf of jeff zucker and his comrades at nbc (the cafeteria isn’t even owned or operated by nbc).
I kinda get where leslie calhoun (our culinary rosa parks) was coming from; fried chicken as a fragrant, tasty, honorable metaphor for the struggles and accomplishments of america’s black masses.
The problem is..in the blogosphere, things can take on a life of their own….. my twitpic was just me poking fun, a Questlove still life that was clearly intended as a joke. What’s even funnier: race issues in post racial America. Potluck anyone?????
- Questlove, as quoted in a release, Feb. 7
Actually, a bigger problem in just about any online forum isn’t taking things out of context – it’s not giving them one to begin with. With just a few more tweets, Quest might have been able to save his network and a well-intentioned woman a lot of grief.
To recap the saga: the image going up Friday afternoon stirred up even more bad buzz for NBC, which already showed a clumsy hand in the Jay Leno/ Conan O’Brien debacle. And as far as diversity issues … well, we’ve talked about Heroes enough on this site.
But it turned out the source of the menu was a black woman: chef Leslie Calhoun said she had been pushing to serve these dishes for years as part of a weekly special during February. According to The New York Post, her menu was approved and served without incident last year. Enter Questlove. As Calhoun told The Post:
“Questlove, who I serve every day and who enjoys my food, requested the neck bone [cooked in] the black-eyed peas and fried chicken, then got off the line, saying, ‘This is racist.’ The next thing you know, people were taking pictures of the sign and asking all the other black people in the cafeteria if this was racist. They said that it wasn’t.”
That quote isn’t included in The Post’s video for the story, but her reaction doesn’t seem to match up with the joking tone Quest presents in his statement. Nor did this post from him, issued shortly after the image went up:
i think i need a twitter break. i done started something. and now i must put out fire.
And this is where Quest lost his chance to set the record straight: At no point in his twitter feed – before or after posting the picture – does he mention that Calhoun is black, that the menu was her idea, or that it had already been well-received by other patrons.
They might not have stopped the image from generating discussion, but as The R’s Andrea Plaid pointed out when she sent me the link to The Post’s story, those facts could have led to some more well-rounded discussions:
* Could Calhoun have thought of something else besides fried chicken and greens to commemorate Black History Month?
* Has Questlove considered from whom in the blogosphere the criticism came?
* Does he himself really believe in “post-racial” America?
Discussing any of these questions, one would think, would be preferable to speculation about a joke that, at the time, only Quest was in on. So at that point, that lack of context or people “not getting it” is his bad. Twitter might be fun, but if you tweet the punchline without the set-up, the LOLZ end up on you.
Or, in Quest’s case, on the people who air his band’s show; NBC moved quickly to remove the sign as debate picked up during Quest’s “break,” but still couldn’t save itself from becoming a punchline: on The Jay Leno Show, Wanda Sykes said, “That’s how [NBC] celebrates. Oh, no, no, ya’ll don’t need to know about Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. Here’s some fried chicken.”
At least the story has a happy ending, as Quest also documented: he gave Calhoun a spa certificate and flowers for her trouble. And, presumably, everyone can eat lunch safely at NBC again. Unless Leno decides he wants the cafeteria, too.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
pololly wrote:
I’m sorry. I don’t care that she is black – I think the menu was a poor idea, very badly executed – and in this context – racist.
Yeah, Quest could have defended it if he agreed that it was fine, which he now does. But that doesn’t make this immune from criticism and nor should it.
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 8:24 am ¶
Mary wrote:
I blame Jeff Zucker. I don’t think this story would have gained nearly as much traction (for better or worse) if NBC hadn’t already made a laughingstock of itself over the late night situation. When I saw this story (and before knowing any of the details about Chef Calhoun), I have to admit one of my first thoughts was “Lord, what ELSE can this network fail at?”
Ultimately though, I feel really bad for the chef. It seems she was trying to do something positive and ended up in the crossfire.
LOL!! I have to say, the one silver lining of this situation was watching Jay Leno do the nervous deer-in-the-headlights chuckling when Wanda Sykes brought it up.
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 9:43 am ¶
Just A Thought wrote:
I was floored when I read this yesterday. Especially because I saw a picture somewhere that showed the chef, and I saw that she was a black woman. My issues with this are:
1. Did he really think this was something that was worth starting a twitter-storm? It’s not like mentioning that a white entity is featuring fried chicken for Black History Month is going to get ignored…
2. Why is it that Black History and cuisine always get reduced to fried chicken? News flash, most early “black” cuisine featured more vegetables and legumes, as blacks had to eat what they could grow (or what they were given from master, then the planter). And jalapeno cornbread is something I never had until I started going to fancy restaurants that were most decidedly NOT owned or operated by black people.
I dunno, I’m too exhausted to unpack all of this today.
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 9:48 am ¶
Eva wrote:
I saw this last week; I have no problem with the food, but they probably shouldn’t have put, “in honor of black history month” on the top. That rubbed me the wrong way.
I work in a hospital and in the 1980’s on Wednesdays we had “ethnic day” where there would be food for a specific ethnic group; the longest line was ALWAYS for “soul food day.” But soul food day could fall during any month though.
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 9:55 am ¶
BSK wrote:
Beyond the excellent analysis of Quest’s missteps presented here, there is also the issue of how we can reasonably commemorate such times of recognition. Now, obviously we’d reach a point where we wouldn’t need Black History Month, Women’s History Month, etc, etc, etc, but we are no where near that and the need to recognize traditionally marginalized groups who continue to get the short shrift in most history curricula remains. That’s not the point of my post.
Rather, the issue seems to be a damned-if-do, damned-if-don’t situation. If NBC doesn’t make any changes to its menu, it could easily be accused of paying lip service to Black History Month (BHM) and not actually doing anything. If it makes changes like the one described here, then it runs the risk of being labeled as stereotyping and insulting. Now, I think where the idea comes from is important: a black chef who is apparently aware of food items that are linked to black culture and history is different than a white exec who says, “I think this is what those people eat.” But, are we simply going to judge such situations on intent? Or are there other criteria we must examine? I’m not criticizing the stance here by the author, defending the practice as legitimate. I’m just wondering openly if there are other ways to determine if such efforts at commemorating are legitimate or not. The intent and thought behind it certainly is a major factor, but what else are mitigating factors in determining the appropriateness of such efforts of recognition?
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 10:15 am ¶
Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist wrote:
this is why I’m weary of Twitter when it comes to trending topics. So many stupid rumors and false information can spread like wildfire on Twitter– and get out of control.
I’m still annoyed over the false rumor and trending topic of Johnny Depp’s death.
be careful what you tweet, folks, especially if you’re famous or have a lot of followers.
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 11:12 am ¶
BSK wrote:
Looking at some of the comments already and in the interest of streamlining my quote, what WOULD have been an appropriate menu if the aim was to commemorate Black History Month? Or is there no way to do it in a way that’s not offensive/racist?
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 11:18 am ¶
cocolamala wrote:
@BSK,
i don’t think a menu should be the go to item for celebrating black history month — i think providing factual information about black history (through a flyer, bulletin board, presentation, or some such…) is a better route.
i think a way of looking at is is asking what if the automatic response to observing Women’s History Month was figuring out what type of lunch to serve…
“Well, women cooked it!!”
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 11:42 am ¶
A.D. Nix wrote:
I think Quest was embarrassed by the maelstrom and unprepared to handle it in any manner that did not involve backing away slowly.
@BSK
How about many menus? It is always just THIS. It is always just fried chicken and collard greens wherever you go. That is the standard Black History Month It’s Your Time! Celebration Menu. What about ackee and saltfish? What about njara and cabbage? Gumbo? Chicken and groundnut? If you’re going to try to rep a whole lot of people, why not do it with a whole lot of stuff?
And what about just serving these foods without a sign that says “In Celebration of Black History Month” altogether? I don’t see what it adds other than the assuaging of corporate guilt.
I’d rather NBC skip the menu and give Stanley Hudson a spin-off show.
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 11:49 am ¶
aimerrouge wrote:
“The problem is..in the blogosphere, things can take on a life of their own…..”
The truest words I’ve ever heard about the blogosphere.
The cafeteria isn’t even owned or operated by NBC, so NBC has no say so in the menu. Why are comments stating what NBC should do to rectify this issue being posted?
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 12:11 pm ¶
Iggles wrote:
I saw this photo on Friday on Celebitchy. It sparked a thread with over 100 responses. It got ugly. Basically warring comments between anti-racist folks and those who just didn’t get it. There were some downright racist comments, however there were some great rebuttals.
http://www.celebitchy.com/90646/is_nbcs_in-house_menu_racist_links/
It was really frustrating to read a great response where someone breaks down stereotypes and white privilege only for the next commenter to post, “blacks see racism everywhere”. UGH!!!
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 12:14 pm ¶
Dr. Ivo Robotnik wrote:
What about traditional North, West and South African dishes? Not that I’m at all familiar enough with the cuisine from different nations (and shamefully, even less with the nations themselves), but just throwing the idea out there.
Mexican food hails from Mexico (for the most part; as I’m sure we’ve Americanized some of what recent generations might call staple dishes), Irish food hails from Ireland, so on and so forth. Why not cook a representative dish from different parts of Africa? Sure, it takes longer than fried chicken, but it makes more of an impact, I think.
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 1:46 pm ¶
not_yet wrote:
Some broader context is needed to really capture why this should NOT be an issue, but IS an issue.
Black History Month was started by black Americans to give pride in our origins and celebrate our contributions globally and in the US. While efforts were made to expand the celebration to figures in the wider diaspora, it remains primarily focused on the black American experience.
Yes, there are many facets to a culture and its history. And when you work in food service, its only understandable to use your trade/skills to bring awareness to BHM. If she were a teacher or a museum worker she’d likely have chosen an alternative medium, but alas, she’s a cook.
But what’s really irking people is that stereotypical “black”food ( typically southern in origin and mysteriously termed soulful most often above the mason dixon line) has been used to mock and disparage black people. Tiger Woods at the Masters anyone? On one hand black Americans are accused of having “no culture” then are busy being embarrassed about it being acknowledged. This hypersensitivity is rooted in white privilege demeaning our unique and creative takes on many things from food to clothes to music. I could go on.
I think because most food types are rooted in a specific national origin black Americans are sometimes loathe to acknowledge certain subcultural preferences and habits because the larger american culture deems it inferior. Does every black person enjoy these meals, no. But let’s stop being delusional. I’m sure people of all backgrounds were happy for a different menu.
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 3:33 pm ¶
Brandon wrote:
I just wish that people would move away from “honoring” anyone with cafeteria food. It does nothing to foster understanding of anything, and at it’s worst it perpetuates stereotypes.
I don’t think it impossible to honor people of different races, ethnicities, and histories through food. But for it to work, it would need love, care, time, and context. You know… all the things you don’t get walking through the cafeteria line with a plastic tray.
But my bigger problem isn’t so much the stereotypes or the offensive nature of the food itself. The problem is that people think that eating the food is a cultural experience in itself.
People who eat Chinese food aren’t experts on all things Asian, and their appreciation of the fortune cookie does little to combat racist attitudes.
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 3:38 pm ¶
aj0010 wrote:
“It was really frustrating to read a great response where someone breaks down stereotypes and white privilege only for the next commenter to post, “blacks see racism everywhere”. UGH!!!”
And you can bet that people who hold such attitudes will be pointing to this incident as validation for years to come.
Nice going, Questlove and Wanda.
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 4:13 pm ¶
brdnbutta wrote:
I realize that there are stereotypes associated with Soul Food, but at the same time as a Southern Black American with no affinity for Soul Food I can’t understand the uproar when in all reality these types of food have their origins in the American South where the majority of Black Americans have there origins. Blacks were the cooks and are the source of what is interpreted as Southern cuisine, why can’t that be celebrated during Black History Month without people getting in an uproar?
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 4:16 pm ¶
snobographer wrote:
The state university I work for had a similar lunch for Black History Month last year. I wonder if they’re going to do it again after all this.
I’m white and felt leery about that menu, but since all the black people in my department participated in the lunch and seemed to like it, I figured it was okay.
Plus, what brdnbutta said. I know this stuff is complicated, but collard greens are a part of African American culinary history like lutefisk is a part of Scandinavian culinary history, right?
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 4:56 pm ¶
BSK wrote:
Thanks for all the responses, and I think a lot of salient points were made. However, we must remember the context of this menu in particular. This was the efforts of an individual chef (presumably with NBC’s blessing) to commemorate BHM. Now, if this was NBC’s only effort, or was an edict from up-on-high, I could see the criticism as more legitimate. However, as I understand it, this was the efforts of one chef, an African-American woman, who wanted to find a way to represent black culture through the food she prepared as part of her job. Now, I would say that it certainly would be a better effort if more varied foods were used, representing different aspects of “Black American culture” (if we want to say it is monolithic) or, more accurately, to represent different black, African, and African-American cultures. Much of the criticism seems knee-jerk because of the ways in which these foods have been used to mock AA’s in the past. However, do we really want to say that black people shouldn’t eat/cook/celebrate foods just because ignorant people have mocked them for it?
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 4:59 pm ¶
Zedster wrote:
“However, do we really want to say that black people shouldn’t eat/cook/celebrate foods just because ignorant people have mocked them for it?”
Therein lies the problem.
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 5:14 pm ¶
cocolamala wrote:
i think there’s no problem with using food as part of a celebration — but there is no indication that Black History Month was primarily supposed to be observed through eating.
what happened to providing actual — Black History?
I understand being attracted to food as an easy means of consumption, but is it so hard to to provide a booket… brochure… pamphlet… flyer folded next to the napkin on a meal? [heck, a top 10 list, some bulletpoints... a printout from Wikipedia...]
i don’t understand what folks learn about Black history by eating a meal. Eating can teach you something about black culture, but communicating history to people actually requires imparting some facts.
I think the privilege of being invited to a Black History Month meal should come at the entry cost of learning some FACTS.
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 5:27 pm ¶
aj0010 wrote:
To presume that the higher-ups at NBC “blessed” this menu is a bit of a leap, I think.
Generally speaking, corporations outsource the operations of their employee cafeterias so they don’t have to deal with things like that.
Not to beat a dead horse, but it’s clear to me that this whole kerfuffle sprang up because Questlove and Wanda Sykes couldn’t restrain themselves from going off half-cocked.
I can’t see how anybody else is responsible.
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 5:41 pm ¶
AMarie wrote:
I saw this, and my response was apathy (if that is even a response.) I found out early on that the chef was a Black woman and the menu was her brainchild. That was the end of the issue for me.
I wasn’t in the mood to ponder why certain individuals made it such a big deal on Twitter (without clarifying w/ facts!).
Of course, I do have issues with essentializing groups/cultures by associating them with their cuisine. Also, considering that these dishes are staples in my household (my mom is from Mississippi, and collard greens are no big deal), I have to wonder WHO the menu was targetted at.
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 6:02 pm ¶
Alexis wrote:
The African American Staff Association at my work (one of the largest employers in my state) is hosting a Black History Month fundraiser lunch in the cafeteria later this week with these exact foods. Is it racist? Is it inappropriate? I’m black and I honestly can’t even tell if I’m offended or not but I’m just posting this to say the NBC situation is not at all unique.
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 6:26 pm ¶
shemari wrote:
I’m not offended by the menu. However, I do get offended when Black culture/history seems to be reduced to foods like fried chicken and collard greens. Even though the cook was Black and it was her idea, the execution leaves a lot to be desired.
Like others have mentioned, some actual Black history could have accompanied the meal. There are some interesting facts about the origins and development of Black American food, that does actually start in Africa, that could have been included. Africans didn’t land in America and start setting up chicken shacks.
This was just lazy. It’s not surprising. As a child I quickly grew tired of the same tired, reductive Black history celebrations. Soul food menus are just another way Black history gets trivialized.
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 7:49 pm ¶
BSK wrote:
cocolamala said:
“i think there’s no problem with using food as part of a celebration — but there is no indication that Black History Month was primarily supposed to be observed through eating.”
I agree. But if you are a chef, then this is the most natural avenue for her to contribute to the celebration (at least professionally). So, if this is all that is done, then NBC can be faulted, especially since it sounds like this wasn’t even their work. But, as an independent action by an independent woman, I find hard faulting the chef.
Posted 09 Feb 2010 at 9:30 pm ¶
Bagelsan wrote:
I wonder how much of this is a class/gender thing, too. A well-known guy decides to make an unknown woman’s hard work into a joke ’cause he’s bored and looking for a little attention? It seems like it’s not just racial stuff that’s a problem here…
Posted 10 Feb 2010 at 5:11 am ¶
C.dot wrote:
As a Caribbean American, I was also annoyed at this menu for once again reducing black food to fried chicken and collard greens. I believe the chef had the best of intentions but it seems as though even she is ignorant of the vast amount of cultures that are represented within black people in America. We’re from the Caribbean, Africa, some from Latin America, just to name a few.
Maybe it’s just been my experience but I find that people are largely unaware of that fact. When I’ve told people my family is from Trinidad it’s been the first time they’ve ever heard of the country. From all of my experiences I can’t help but think of this menu as the equivalent of a Hispanic History Month menu that only features Mexican food. How can you represent so many cultures and ethnicities on a single menu?
But as some of the other commenters have said, this menu would be less of an issue if we had some kind of real dialogue of black history in this country. The way we teach about black history in this country is the exact reason why menus like this even come into existence.
Posted 10 Feb 2010 at 5:36 pm ¶
J.Adia wrote:
I don’t have a problem with celebrating culture through food since food affects people’s lives in so many different ways. I think it’s amazing how black people sustained themselves on the scraps of their owners. (I just realized last year that turnip greens came from turnips. For some reason I never made the connection between the root and the greens because I never had the root.) Like BSK said, it is unfortunate that ignorant people choose to mock the food choices of other’s culture.
I would also like to note that the chef may have been also restrained by costs when planning her menu. Chicken, rice, greens, and black eyed peas are relatively inexpensive and would provide greater margins for the cafeteria.
Posted 12 Feb 2010 at 9:33 pm ¶