Lunch, Liberty, And Love
Marches. Firehoses. Dogs. Boycotts. Children beckoning the courage of the ages walking through the shadows of enraged protestors who berated these innocent adolescents for daring to go to school.
All of these are scenes recorded and replayed in black - and - white in my mental cinema under the category of Civil Rights era. The episodes are numerous and powerful. And, some of those scenes even play against unlikely backdrops.
Like…
Lunch counters.
In 1960, four college students decided that they wanted lunch. By itself, this seems hardly worth mentioning. But, these four students decided they wanted lunch at Woolworth's in Greensboro, NC.
And? And, these students were Black. And? In 1960 in Greensboro, Woolworth's didn't serve lunch to Black people.
So these four Black students — Ezell Blair Jr., David Richmond, Franklin McCain, and Joseph McNeil — were not just hungry for lunch. They were craving liberty. And, their decision to eat at Woolworth's became revolutionary. Indeed, they became the forerunners of hundreds of other liberty - hungry men and women – Black, White, and otherwise – who enlarged the movement across southern states. And, the Greensboro Four strategically leveraged the media to play this scene across TV stations and in living rooms throughout the country.
By July 1960, Woolworth's integrated its lunch counters.
And, Black Americans were free to eat lunch in more restaurants than they could before this fight for liberty.
A New Food Fight
…which brings us to today.
2019 has seen Black people shore to shore and border to border engaged in yet another fight over food. This fight is taking place on social media by the millions. Boys and girls, men and women are going at it about which chicken sandwich is best – Chick - fil - a or Popeye's.
Chick - fil - a has been in the game for years. But, Popeye's has picked this chicken fight by introducing a new chicken sandwich to their menu for the first time.
So, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook have been littered with posts about chicken sandwiches. This trend, which debuted in August, has grown so much that some estimate that Popeye's has been able to capitalize on free marketing valued at over $23M!
This economic boon for a national chain not owned by Black people has subsequently prompted many Black people to say "shame on us" for waiting in line for 45 minutes for a sandwich, for giving all this free energy to these corporations, for giving more attention to chicken sandwiches than we do to parent - teacher conferences or to voting lines.
Shame, shame, shame!
Black people have been play - fighting over their preferred bird.
But, just like on the playground, play fighting can turn into real fighting. And, Black people have been really fighting about whether we should be fighting about chicken sandwiches.
I say that Black people should be free to eat lunch.
Eat lunch at Chick - fil - a, if it's in your budget.
Eat lunch at Popeye's if it's in your diet. And, definitely, eat at your local Black - owned restaurant. I do all the time.
But, let's celebrate the fact that – for the most part – we can eat lunch wherever we want.
That's not always true everywhere.
Because here in this same 2019, Black people get reported to the police for trying to grill their lunch in a city park … or for waiting to have lunch with a business partner at a coffee shop.
Fragile white people flippantly and dangerously call the police on Black people for having lunch and enjoying life.
It's like they say to themselves, "How dare they exercise the liberty to enjoy life!"
Then, in the midst of this chicken sandwich duel, I've seen Black people do the same thing to one another. "Shame on you for enjoying life. We still have real fights about real issues."
But, don't forget. Just a few years ago, lunch was the real issue.
History - makers subjected themselves to physical abuse, social humiliation, and arrest so that we could eat lunch … and enjoy life. We've marched, boycotted, sat - in, and voted so that we could have the liberty to eat lunch … and enjoy life.
So, I – for one – will enjoy watching us fight over which lunch is the best. And, I'll rejoice that we don't have to fight to eat lunch.
Some of my favorite people and some complete strangers may still disagree with me.
And, you'll call us back to the real fight. That's cool, too. Because that's a part of the beauty of being Black in America.
There are different shades of Black – meaning we don't always see everything one way.
You and I can disagree. And, if you want to talk about it over lunch, let's sit down and talk.
Your treat. And, even if we disagree, I'll still love you.
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