'How we eat our chicken' is a racial issue according to this professor

A DePaul University (DePaul) alumna and Nevada State College professor, Erika Abad, gave a presentation to other Depaul alumni on “colorism,” the notion that minority groups discriminate against each other based on how dark their skin is. 

Abad said in her early February presentation that even tastes and smells are racialized, including “[h]ow we eat our chicken.”

The presentation was uploaded to the DePaul University Office of Alumni Relations YouTube channel.

[RELATED: SGA discusses resolution to restrict professors’ free speech]

Abad said that “colorsim” can be explained through five points, dubbed the “sense(s) of colorism:” sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. 

On the topic of sight, she referenced hair style and products, arguing that using coconut-based and scented products is about assimilating to “whiteness.”

Then, answering a question posed to her during the live stream, she said that “how [people of color] eat [their] chicken” is also about “whiteness,” but did not explain the details.  

Doubling down, Abad said tanning has been racially “sexualized in a certain way,” making reference to “Ariana Grande … performing brown face in terms of her aesthetic.”

Abad said that, in the instance of Grande, brown face is acceptable due to her being “an Italian American.” She added, however, that “if folks who are organically and naturally darker or have textured hair, live in that comfortably, they are often perceived socially as less-than.”

DePaul’s Alumni Youtube channel also includes other videos on “Afro-Latinx Identity & Inclusivity” and “Queer and Trans Intersections with Disability Justice.”

Abad also spoke about an incident in which her family picture was denied for use in a press release for the UNLV Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art, but later accepted. She described the original rejection as a “form of racial violence.”

A spokesman from the museum told Campus Reform, “With all due respect, Professor Abad is mistaken … When the press release was posted to the UNLV News Center, a different photo was used, as there were many from which to choose. Professor Abad made the request to change the photo, and the request was completed within a matter of minutes.”

Both DePaul and Nevada State College are involved with supporting and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion standards at their schools. 

[RELATED: Fives times ‘Anti-Racist’ ideology took over academia this year]

Instances of woke ideas associated with CRT and DEI taking over educational institutions across the nation have been well-documented. 

Campus Reform has also recently reported on DePaul taking measures such as disallowing professors to use racial epithets even when used in a purely academic context.

All the parties involved in this story have been contacted for comment and the report will be updated as needed.