'Are Fried Chicken And Watermelon Racist?' MTV's Franchesca Ramsey Asks... [View all]

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'Are Fried Chicken And Watermelon Racist?' MTV's Franchesca Ramsey Asks In New Web Series

As much as we'd like to think everyone loves fried chicken and watermelon (perhaps not together), these delectables have been used as stereotypes against African-Americans for decades. They depict black people in degrading and demoralizing frames of reference and form ugly connotations that portray them as “lazy and simple.”

At least, that's how comedian and blogger Franchesca Ramsey puts it in a video published Wednesday. The three-minute video, titled “Are Fried Chicken and Watermelon Racist?” explores how these these stereotypes are racist and why their associations are harmful.

The video is the first of a new MTV Web series Ramsey is hosting, titled “Decoded,” that will air on the brand's newly launched MTV News YouTube channel. Each week, Ramsey will take on race, social issues and pop culture with an honest and comedic spin.

“A show like ‘Decoded’ highlights why we need to break these subjects down, because there’s a lot of people who don’t understand and get uncomfortable when we talk about race,” Ramsey told The Huffington Post. “There’s still a lot of discomfort, there’s a lot people who need to learn things, but we’re trying to focus on people who are confused and want to learn and comedy helps to infiltrate that.”

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If that means taking and slamming racist stereotypes that should have been eradicated years ago, then we say it’s a great place for the series to start.

Read More http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/03/mtv-decoded-fried-chicken_n_7498150.html?utm_hp_ref=black-voices