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"Sanders was aware that his plantation owner outfit harkened back to one of the most repugnant periods in American history"
he also seemed happy to revel in the racial tensions of the day.
Speaking with This American Life, Ray Callender, KFC's public relations chief during the latter part of the 1970s, discussed a joke Sanders liked to play when he, a black man, and Sanders, the epitome of whiteness, would travel together.
"In the case with me traveling with the colonel, I always sat in the back, believe it or not, and he sat up front with the driver," said Callender of his time in the mash potato monarch's white Cadillac. "And what he would do, when we got to the motel where we stayed, he jumped out of the car and ran to the back to open the door for me, and run ahead to the hotel and guide me through the door, and he would carry the bags.
"And we had, at that point, back in 1976, the doorman came to me, scratching his head, and said, 'You know, I know that man is Colonel Sanders, that Kentucky Fried Chicken guy, millionaire,'" Callender continued.
"And I said, 'Yeah.' And he said, 'Well, who the hell are you?' And the colonel said, 'That's my son, but we don't talk about that.'
KFC | What’s for Dinner? | Sitcom Colonel starring Jason Alexander Aug 06, 12:56
No one says anything because that is not true. lol {nm} Aug 06, 15:01
"Sanders was aware that his plantation owner outfit harkened back to one of the most repugnant periods in American history" Aug 06, 15:23
Jimmy, that story actually undercuts the idea that he was racist {nm} Aug 07, 10:01