The Stereotype Of African Americans & Kool-Aid

Edited by Azizi Powell

Kool-Aid Ad

Uploaded by randimay21 on Apr 29, 2010

Kool-Aid Commercial (1992). I remember seeing this commercial every Saturday during Soul Train lol.
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A post about an un-named store in the United States offering a sale on Kool-Aid flavored drink for Black History month was recently published on the Sociological Images forum that I read and periodically post to. One blogger wrote the following:

"Okay, Non-American here... Is there a specific streotype associated to Kool-Aid and blacks in the States, or is it just a random\strange product to choose?"
- Spekatie
http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/02/09/black-history-month-kool-aid-sale/#disqus_thread
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I decided to look online before I responded to that query, and doing so I found a similar, but much more loaded question on http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091228235646AAiesFk

"Why do black people like kool aid, fried chicken, and watermelon?

what do African Americans like kfc kool aid and watermelon im not a racist im not trying to be one no offence to anyone but why do people say they like it so much?
- Mr. Crazy, 2010
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There were several responses to that question, but the one that was voted the best was submitted by Mr. Baltimoron. I agree with the first part of his response:

"Many black people in America come from poor backgrounds. Chicken always used to be a cheaper meat (than, say, beef), so it's the protein they could afford. Of course chicken is bland in flavor (it tastes like, uh, chicken) so what can you do to spice it up? Flour is cheap, oil is cheap, and deep frying anything makes it 127% tastier. Tah-dah! Fried chicken. Same thing for Kool Aid (cheap and easy to make). Both are less a "black" thing and more economic and regional (the South) in origin but were grafted onto blacks as a dehumanizing mechanism...
- The Baltimoron 2010
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That blogger goes on to write that "Yes, your question (whether intended or not) is offensive. Whites used to malign black people as watermelon and chicken thieves. They would say that during the night, when it was pitch dark, black people would go to the master's field to steal watermelons, or, like foxes, to the chicken coop to steal chickens. But supposedly, these black people were always betrayed by their white teeth and white eyes which shone in the dark like lightning. So they could not hide, even in the darkest of nights, even though they were so black. That was why their smiles were cut like slices of watermelon and they were considered, like chickens, to be cowards."
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I don't agree that asking a question about the reasons for stereotypes is necessarily offensive. However, I believe that accepting that stereotype as the truth is offensive for the reasons that Baltimoron wrote.

Referring to Kool-Aid as the Black person's drink is a short handed way of saying that all Black people are poor. That statement is stereotypical. First of all, there are more poor White people in the USA (since it's probable that those making that statement erroneously equate the referent "Black people" with African Americans). Furthermore, all Black people in the United States aren't poor. Some of us (but unfortunately not me) are quite wealthy.

However, I think there are other reasons besides that product being inexpensive why many Americans (including Black Americans) may associate Kool-Aid flavored drink with Black folks. One of those reasons is that that company appears to have made a strategic marketing decision to target Black people in its ads. Note that the uploader of the video on the top of this page wrote that "I remember seeing this commercial every Saturday during Soul Train lol." Soul Train was a very popular music/dance show that featured mostly Black dancers and guest recording stars. However, it wasn't just Black people who watched that show.

A number of people who watched Soul Train may have favorable rememberances of those ads not only because they were aired during that well loved show, but also because those ads favorably depicted Black people. Here are some examples of those ads:

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FEATURED VIDEOS
(These videos are presented in no particular order.
My thanks to the producers & uploaders of these videos. All copyrights remain with their owners.)

Video #1: Kool-Aid Ad (1992)

This video is shown at the top of the page.

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Video #2: You're never too old for Kool Aid (1970's)

Uploaded by CineGraphic on Jan 30, 2010

"From the early 70's, a unique commercial for it's time.

Commercials depicting African Americans in suburban settings were ground-breaking at the time."

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Video #3: Classic Kool-Aid commercial, featuring the Monkees

Uploaded by barbrababble on Sep 15, 2006

"Kool-Aid commercial from 1970 featuring members of the Monkees at an amusement park."
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Notice that not only were there a few Black people in that commercial, but those Black people weren't depicted any differently than White people.

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Video #4: Vintage Kool-Aid 1973 Commercial

Uploaded by robatsea2009 on Sep 14, 2009

"a vintage 1973 television commercial for Kool-Aid"
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A viewer wrote that this commercial may have been from 1971-1972, not 1973.

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MORE EDITORIAL COMMENTS
Video #1, #2, and #3 feature Black people portrayed in non-stereotypical ways. (For what it's worth, Video #2 is my favorite of all of these featured videos because of its depiction of a Black family reunion which include that delightful baby girl taking her first steps.)

With regards to videos #3 and #4, it was rare in the 1970s and beyond for commercials to show Black child interacting in a non-stereotypical way with White children.

Part of the stereotype about African Americans and Kool-Aid specifies that we like grape flavored Kool-Aid the most, although some say its cherry flavored Kool-Aid that Black people prefer. I think that's because many people (including me) thought that those two flavors taste the best - or at least they did until new flavors like lemon lime were added in the 1990s or whenever.

But for the record, since I've read this statement on other websites, I want to mention that I don't think that Black people preferring grape Kool-Aid (if that is even true) has anything whatsoever to do with the 1978 Jim Jones mass suicide in Guyana when that religious cult leader served grape Kool-Aid laced with arsenic or some other poison to his followers and then drank it himself. (It may be beside the fact that the powdered drink laced with arsenic that White American Jim Jones served to his mostly African American followers and then drank himself may not have even been Kool-Aid).

One reason why people regardless of race, ethnicity, or economic class buy Kool-Aid is that that flavored drink tastes "all right" (for instance, it has no bad after-taste). But, it seems to me that if that product was linked to disrespectful depictions or racist treatment of Black people, then no matter if we liked its taste or not, and no matter how inexpensive or easy to use it is, Black people would be dis-inclined to buy it. That said, some people consider this Kool-Aid commercial of the Kool-Aid icon, a large othe Kool-Aid pitcher full of cherry flavored drink, joining in with Black teenage males playing basketball to be offensive:

Video #5: Racist Kool-Aid Commercial

Uploaded by wambam1205 on May 18, 2008

"I was very offended by this commercial..to think we live in a world where huge corporations can still insult the rich black culture and get away with it."
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Personally, I don't think that ad is racist. However, I do believe that producing an ad which includes Black people playing basketball & drinking Kool-Aid was a bad marketing choice given the racist memes that all Black people are poor and the "White man can't jump" stereotype which assumes that all Black males naturally are skilled at playing basketball.

Here are my final thoughts about this subject:
Even if there are neutral or positive reasons for Kool-Aid to be linked with Black people, companies and individuals should be very careful not to feed into the toxic memes that have developed around Black people and that product or other products.

It would be foolish for any store to have a sale on a a product that is considered part of the stereotype for Black people during Black History month (February) or at any time. To do so demeans the whole point of Black History month (to raise awareness about Black history and culture). Furthermore, for any company to put on sale any product that feeds into stereotypes associated with Black people isn't using good judgement. It sets that company up for bad publicity which could result in customers refusing to shop there because of that culturally incompetent marketing choice.

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RELATED LINKS
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-story-behind-stereotype-of-black.html

http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2011/10/deconstructing-caricature-of-zip-coon.html

http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/06/ten-non-racist-product-commercials-that.html

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