Vicki Marble has caused controversy following her comments regarding poverty during a meeting of the Economic Opportunity Poverty Reduction Task Force Wednesday at the Capitol. Marble delivered a rather odd declaration explaining how she believed that partly due to consumption of chicken, more African Americans and Hispanics live in poverty. Lawmakers gathered in Washington DC as the committee was presented with a number of statistics highlighting racial disparities in the poverty rate.
"When you look at life expectancy, there are problems in the black race: sickle-cell anemia is something that comes up, diabetes is something that's prevalent in the genetic makeup and you just can't help it," Marble said. "Although I've got to say, I've never had better BBQ and better chicken and ate better in my life than when you go down south and you - I love it."
Marble continued her displaced declaration regarding the apparent connection between sickle-cell anemia, BBQ chicken from the south, and poverty. Marble then commented on how Mexicans normally eat vegetables in their native Mexico, but stop eating healthy when they immigrate to the United States. "These things aren't good for you," she continued. "There's so many attributing factors as to why these graphs look the way they do."
Following Marble's comments, "there was an audible gasp in the room," according to Senator Evie Hudak, D-Arvada. While the committee was left speechless by the off-color comments, Representative Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, responded to Marble on the record.
"The title for this committee is the Economic Opportunity Poverty Reduction Task Force; and one of the things I will not tolerate is racist and insensitive comments about African Americans, the color of their skin. You mentioned what we eat - I was highly offended by your remarks," Fields said, addressing Marble directly. The main goal of the EOPR is discuss and solve complex issues related to child and family poverty. While also maintain dialogue of multiple perspective and considering the link between economic opportunity and poverty reduction.
Fields continued relaying the exact reasons for why not only was the comment ignorant, but also address how the purposed eating habits of communities is not relevant to the committee. "I will not engage in a dialogue where I'm in the company where you are using the stereotype references about African Americans and chicken and food and all kinds of things. I will just not tolerate that."
Fields finished her rebuttal by simply stating, "This is not what this committee is all about. So I will ask that you suspend your perceptions and judgments about African Americans, about poverty - what we're trying to do is come up with solutions and it's not about chicken. It's not about eating chicken."
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