On Demand
Obama Chicken Joint: Critics Cry Fowl!
By Stephen Nessen
April 8, 2009
The owner of a Brownsville fast food joint may have rode the wave of Obamamania a bit too far after he recently renamed his restaurant Obama Fried Chicken.
Despite protests last week, the manager, Mohammad Jabbar from Bangladesh, says the owner, Kaji Chowdhury also from Bangladesh, was only trying to honor President Obama. Jabbar says most customers don’t seem to mind the name change.
“Everyone is coming and telling us ‘I support the sign, don’t take it down.’”
He adds that the new name has not hurt sales, but hasn’t improved them either.
City Councilman Charles Barron is not happy about the commercialization of President Obama and thinks the first black president deserves better.
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“Obama fried chicken is exploitative and racist. Doesn’t matter if you’re doing it ignorantly or arrogantly, the sign should come down and we confronted him with that and first he said he would take it down then he changed his mind. So now we’re protesting it. If you’re going to use the president’s name, it should be named after a school, a college a street, libraries, highways. That’s what they do with white presidents whether they’re alive or dead but with Obama all of a sudden we become, we’re going to name him with some fried chicken and little Chia Pets? Obama’s Watermelons will be next. It’s disgraceful, outrageous, disrespectful and we’ll be out there in number Saturday at 12 noon to continue our protest. “
The Obama Chia pet.
Barron will lead a protest against the Obama Fried Chicken restaurant this Saturday at 12:00 p.m.
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Comments
Comment from deshimiah
Date: April 9, 2009, 10:52 am
I’m originally from Bangladesh. I also consider this a potentially racial, prejudiced at least to use Pres. Obama’s name…it will serve as ammo to the likes of Limbaugh who will term Pres. Obama a chicken. The first AA president of the US, with a high IQ and expertise should not be subjected to such derision, IMV.
Comment from Kennedy Fried Chicken
Date: April 10, 2009, 1:57 am
How is it racist? Because it’s fried chicken? Oh I get it. Only black people like fried chicken. Right? THAT is racist. In Brooklyn I saw a place called Kennedy Fried Chicken. Why doesn’t anyone protest a white president’s name being used for a chicken place? I guess white people don’t like fried chicken?
The people running the protest are simply ignorant.
Comment from jim
Date: April 10, 2009, 2:23 pm
The man can call his chicken joint anything he wants. Is you don’t like it, Buy your chicken and watermelon somewhere else.
Comment from richard
Date: April 10, 2009, 7:20 pm
Oh get a life you people! If this sad twat feels a need to raise his public profile you’d think he’d pursue a worthier cause where he doesn’t come across as more of a laughing stock than a rational and intelligent politician.The owner has said he is simply honoring the president. Just when Princess Diana died a guy in the east village named his deli ‘Diana Dodi Deli’ Take it at face value and stop this pathetic witchhunt – trying to find non-existant racist overtones in every facet of life
Comment from Henry
Date: April 11, 2009, 9:41 pm
Can’t resist linking to a great series on the topic of presidential chicken shops from satan’s laundromat:
http://www.satanslaundromat.com/sl/archives/000453.html
Comment from Said Hamideh
Date: April 12, 2009, 3:36 pm
The councilman is unwittingly playing into this clever Bangladeshi’s antagonistic marketing ploy.
Comment from James
Date: April 13, 2009, 6:24 am
What dose someone from Bangladesh know about fried chicken … it can’t be that good anyways.
Comment from Dan’s Fried Chicken
Date: April 13, 2009, 6:36 am
Has Obama filed a trademark on his name? I believe this citycouncilman is jealous that his name is not in the lights and certainly is trying to get them here and probably is hoping one of the late night shows picks up his idotic ideal so he can become mayor the next time round… Wake up folks – this is America! At least till the government buys us all out…
Comment from Gene Emahiser
Date: April 13, 2009, 8:45 am
It is obviously a exercise of our first Amendment right of free expression. If you can burn my American flag, put a sacred cross in a bottle of urine, then don’t tell me that a Self-indulgent person with a Messiah complex who lied their way into office cannot suffer through some criticism, parody, and conflict. He asked for the job, now let him live through ALL of it, including some odd types of abuse, if that is what this amounts to… And I doubt that it does. To the whimps that find it offensive, take a breath, kick off your shoes and count to twenty, then eat your melon and shut up while the rest of us contend with this new Change in our lives.
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