PS MAY 2009 Pages.qxd
5/4/2009
5:53 PM
Page 8
PROGRAM SUCCESS – MAY 2009
‘Obama Fried Chicken’
PAGE 19
Will Keep Its Name
By A. G. Sulzberger
Guest Columnist, New York City, N.Y.
The owner of
Obama
Fried
Chicken at Rutland
Road
and
R o c k a w a y
Parkway
in
Brownsville,
Brooklyn, plans to
keep the name,
despite protests.
The man who
caused a stir by
calling his fastfood
restaurant
Obama
Fried
Chicken no longer
plans to change the
name, despite a
growing
outcry
from
protesters
who say the name
conjures up disturbing racial stereotypes.
On Monday, about 20 people, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, protested outside the restaurant, at Rutland Road and
Rockaway Parkway in Brownsville, Brooklyn. “He wasn’t a man of his word,” one of the protest organizers, Kevin
McCall, said Tuesday, referring to the restaurant’s owner. “He didn’t keep his commitment of having this sign down.
This is very offensive to African-Americans.”
The restaurant, previously called Royal Fried Chicken, took the Obama name in late March in a gesture of fondness
for the president, said Mohammad Jabbar, the manager and spokesman for the restaurant.
Under pressure last week, Mr. Jabbar, who said he is not the owner, said the name would be changed to Popular
Fried Chicken over the weekend. But on Monday, the sign was still there — a fact noted by the free newspaper in
New York under the print headline “What the Cluck?”. The White House disapproves of using the president’s name
for commercial purposes, a spokesman said.
On Tuesday, Mr. Jabbar explained that the owner had changed his mind because the new sign, which he says cost
about $5,000, has been embraced. He estimated that four out of every five customers have supported the name.
“They’re telling us not to remove,” he said.
Mr. Jabbar added that he believed the controversy was over. Another protest is planned for noon Saturday — news
that caught Mr. Jabbar by surprise. “We’re going to continue to keep the pressure on,” said Mr. McCall. “If he thinks
we’re going away that’s not going to happen.”