If you’ve happen to peruse my website you may have found yourself on my “Poultry in Motion” page where I essentially chronicle my chicken journey in random cities…It’s safe to say that I like chicken and its various ways of being prepared. However, when Popeyes released it’s new Spicy Chicken sandwich, I didn’t think too much of it.. Whenever I enter Popeyes, I request a 2 Piece spicy white combo with seasoned fries and a sweet tea/ lemonade blend, it’s been my go-to for SEVERAL years. It makes me happy, never did I think of switching up my routine. My best friend Preston told me about the sandwich before the social media frenzy that he wanted to indulge. I never batted an eye nor did I think twice about the comment. About a week later, I started to realize a pattern of witty thoughts and tweets based around this chicken sandwich; still not realizing that this was about to be a moment in Black Twitter History. Nor did I think this was going to be a social movement of Black collective consciousness based on a bird wrapped in a brioche bun. Now be clear, Black people have been on the end of a joke as it relates to fried chicken. There are jokes and caricatures for days, some funny and not so funny. I strongly encourage you to conduct your own google search and I’m certain you can come up with something cringe worthy. The purpose of this post is not intended to be a history lesson, but simply my soliloquy of the spicy sandwich with a sociological spin.
Want me to rate the chicken? The sandwich was good as hell, the chicken breast was juicy and deep fried to crispy perfection, I would give it an 8/10. Now that I got the rating out the way. I want to delve deeper into the intersection of race, capitalism, religion, and sexuality around this chicken sandwich. It’s no secret that Black folks have held Popeyes in high regard as compared to its other feathery contemporaries KFC, Church’s, BoJangles, etc, but there has been the one chicken spot that has been the exception. The one that parades a cow as it official mascot, the one that will give you bags and bags of dipping sauces without the fear of being charged an extra 50 cent per packaging; the one that always provides service with a smile even when the drive thru line is spilling into the road, but the attendant always manages to say “My Pleasure”. Chick-Fil-A has managed to stay a front runner in poultry among many despite donating several thousands of dollars to ANTI-lgbt organizations under the guise of being good stewards of Christianity, as evident by observing the Sabbath day. Which is odd on two accounts…capitalism never takes a day off, especially when something is in high demand. Secondly, in 2019 we live in a cancel culture where if your ideals and values don’t match up with most, you become a trending topic. Which allows people to not only attempt to ruin your livelihood but also erase you from history books. Chik-Fil-A has been the Teflon Don, regardless of countless liberal media headlines that denounce them, it never really took a hard hit.. Not a hit hard enough to change up their business practices or close down stores on a business day to conduct a sensitivity training. If homophobia can’t put a dent in Chick-Fil-A business, then what can??? ….Black people, and our adoration for that eye popping orange “P” logo. Popeyes saw Chick-Fil-A status of Teflon Don and transformed itself into Mr. Untouchable with the rise of the Spicy sandwich. Chick-Fil-A had to find out that hard way, that Black folks will wait in line for a a few things..and chicken just so happens to be on the short list.
As a card carrying member of Popeyes I figured I was going to have to wait several minutes, one way or the other for the sandwich. I didn’t think that it would be and hour and half. People waited in the line as long as they could, some people left out of impatience, others left because their lunch hour expired, as for myself I had no place I had to be. I couldn’t help but hear random conversations from patrons; Popeyes turned into a communal experience. People began to befriend each other, laugh, criticize, have disdain for the 4 employees trying to serve the chicken goers and Uber Eat drivers. So much so, the Uber Eat drivers had their own line. There were a sea of Black people with white people peppered here in there. The Popeye’s staff were obviously short staffed and tired.. consumers didn’t care, you could overhear unpleasant comments about the customer service. Angry customers that finally made it to the register to place their orders were requesting extra food and drinks for free because of the wait, staffers obliged just to keep the peace. Popeyes as a company had won, the staff however, were not so lucky. The staff at my location were a mixture of Black and Brown people, younger and older, that were really working their asses off for what I would assume was minimum wage. When I was a teenager, my first job was at Church’s Chicken and I hated the lunch and dinner rush which last about an hour and half at most. Popeyes “rush hour” in this case was from open to close of business, and this lasted for several days. I couldn’t help but feel bad for employees, in fact there was a meme on the internet that showed a Black lady that look exhausted, making comparison of a Flu ridden Micheal Jordan on the basketball court. However, I’m sure her salary looks nothing like the 6 times NBA championship winner with a Nike shoe deal. She was most likely an overworked underpaid employee. Although tired, she still had her apron on, one would assume that she was going to clock back in and fight the good fight for corporate America. Be that as it may, regarding the working conditions, I still waited in line for the sandwich. Behind me was a Black lady, and behind her was a white lady, they were visibly irritated. The white woman nostrils would flare as she began to release her breath in impatience. The Black lady would do the same, but also vocalizing her irritation, as she suggested that this particular Popeyes had to be a franchise and not a corporate store. Which she suggested the explanation of why the manager was doing such an awful job. I stood there and nodded my head and hit her with the universal “Yeah, this crazy” response. Eventually, the 3 of us began to chat a bit more, and the Black woman asked the white woman if she could “use her white privilege to help us cut the line” I stood there in amusement, now be clear, if she could have used her white privilege to move the line faster I would indeed be happy. On the other hand I began to visualize her privilege as a genie in a bottle and thought to myself do I really want to waste this white privilege wish on cutting the line at Popeyes??… I was perplexed I’ll admit. The white woman was fully conscious of where she was, and knew if she cut a line of full of Black people, to get her sandwich first she would be the talk of the town. She replied that “I cannot do that” with a reluctant smirk on her face.
While the Chick-Fil-A sandwich is battered in homophobia, could the Popeyes sandwich be the answer to racism? Is this where cooler heads prevail to have eradicate 400 years of oppression? Highly unlikely, but it was cool to wonder. In my many years of eating chicken, never did I have a conversation of how a white woman could use her privilege to help others get ahead, even if it meant getting ahead in chicken line.
As I previously stated the chicken sandwich was good, but the Black cultural movement is what I appreciated the most. This is third time that I can recall being in a similar phenomena. The first was the election of Obama in 2008, the second was showing up to movie theater to join my fellow Wakandans for the premier of Black Panther, and the third was the Popeyes spicy chicken sandwich… I think this is peak Blackness. It’s been proven time and time again, that when Black people get excited about something collectively we can make shit happen.
The lines at Popeyes were lengthy nationwide, it was an opportune time for politics. 16 year old David Ledbetter in North Carolina, used the craze to register voters, which was a genius way to empower Black people. Dare I say that Popeyes will also be the space for collective consciousness to hear voice of reason to get Trump out of office?! Maybe?…The unfortunate thing is a few days after David Ledbetter made national news of registering people. Popeyes went to social media and announced that they ran out of chicken via video and pretty much told Black people to download their app to wait for the re-up. Could this be another form of voter suppression?? Did Chick-Fil-A feel the pressure in their pockets and put the muscle on chicken farmers to cease sales to the competition??.. Is there conspiracy afoot?? I’d like to think not, I really think Popeyes didn’t expect to sell out of two months supply within 2 weeks. However, crazier things have happen like Cointelpro, the Iran- Contra scandal, and the 3rd season of Boondocks. I suppose we just wait and see.. In the meantime between time, I’ll stick with my 2pc Spicy White combo.
