 Since the American Civil War , traditional slave foods like fried chicken , watermelon , and <unk> have suffered a strong association with African @-@ American stereotypes and blackface minstrelsy . This was commercialized for the first half of the 20th century by restaurants like Sambo 's and Coon Chicken Inn , which selected exaggerated depictions of blacks as mascots , implying quality by their association with the stereotype . Although also being acknowledged positively as " soul food " today , the affinity that African @-@ American culture has for fried chicken has been considered a delicate , often pejorative issue . While the perception of fried chicken as an ethnic dish has been fading for several decades , with the ubiquity of fried chicken dishes in the US , it persists as a racial stereotype . 
