Showing posts with label Oprah Winfrey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oprah Winfrey. Show all posts
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Friday, May 8, 2009
Oprah Winfrey Is Killing Me; FREE food at KFC. --William T. Hoston
I'm confused, so Oprah Winfrey is providing individuals with coupons for FREE chicken (Grilled not Fried) at KFC. WTF!!! Is this NOT a form of economic and social stratification???
Oprah should be applauded for how she has used her image and show as a platform for charitable work (ie. gifts, donations, scholarships, cars, homes, etc.). Proponents have defended the validity of the show for this reason despite her unwilling conscience to use the show as a platform to address the economic, social, and political plight of African-Americans NOR consistently provide outreach for at-risk members of the African-American community. Yes, she has done things to help the black community (cherry picking the good negros), so i am NOT saying she has not. But many of her actions were reactive rather than proactive. In fact, many were surprised when she openly endorsed President Barack Obama (but if she hadn't, criticism would have grown especially after she dropped the ball in the 2004 presidential election between Bush v. Kerry).
With that said, this latest stunt is cause for outrage. Oprah knows (in the Black Folks Handbook) that Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is an establishment mainly patronized by African-American consumers, and that, coupled with the words FREE would lead to a volatile situation (42nd St. in NY). And I KNOW she had the foresight to KNOW this. She is in fact from the South where "Black folks" and "KFC" are synonymous with each other.
"I was really deeply moved, first of all, by all the people who sent thank you's for the chicken," Winfrey said. "You know, I actually got more thank you's for the chickens than we did for the cars, which is so amazing."
I pose a few questions: Why is Oprah giving folks "free grilled" chicken? Doesn't the word "free" elicit a certain demographic (race, social, and economic)? Is this helping the black community? Are opponents of this action looking at it too in-depth?
Oprah should be applauded for how she has used her image and show as a platform for charitable work (ie. gifts, donations, scholarships, cars, homes, etc.). Proponents have defended the validity of the show for this reason despite her unwilling conscience to use the show as a platform to address the economic, social, and political plight of African-Americans NOR consistently provide outreach for at-risk members of the African-American community. Yes, she has done things to help the black community (cherry picking the good negros), so i am NOT saying she has not. But many of her actions were reactive rather than proactive. In fact, many were surprised when she openly endorsed President Barack Obama (but if she hadn't, criticism would have grown especially after she dropped the ball in the 2004 presidential election between Bush v. Kerry).
With that said, this latest stunt is cause for outrage. Oprah knows (in the Black Folks Handbook) that Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is an establishment mainly patronized by African-American consumers, and that, coupled with the words FREE would lead to a volatile situation (42nd St. in NY). And I KNOW she had the foresight to KNOW this. She is in fact from the South where "Black folks" and "KFC" are synonymous with each other.
"I was really deeply moved, first of all, by all the people who sent thank you's for the chicken," Winfrey said. "You know, I actually got more thank you's for the chickens than we did for the cars, which is so amazing."
I pose a few questions: Why is Oprah giving folks "free grilled" chicken? Doesn't the word "free" elicit a certain demographic (race, social, and economic)? Is this helping the black community? Are opponents of this action looking at it too in-depth?
http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090430-tows-kfc-coupon-download
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