The "chitlin' circuit" was the general name given to the string of venues throughout the eastern and southern United States that catered primarily to African American audiences. The starting place of entertainers such as Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Patti LaBelle, Jimi Hendrix, The Isley Brothers, and Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5, the "Chitlin' circuit" (deriving its name from the soul food item chitterlings: fried pig intestines) was the main way of seeing many popular black acts before the days of integration. An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black), is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... Cab Calloway, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1933 Cab Calloway (December 25, 1907–November 18, 1994) was a famous American jazz singer and bandleader. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Patti LaBelle performing live. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The Isley Brothers are a hugely popular African-American group of brothers from Cincinnati, Ohio. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The cover to the Jackson 5s first LP, Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5, released on Motown Records in 1969. ... Soul Food is a 1997 film, produced by Kenneth Babyface Edmonds, Tracey Edmonds, and Robert Teitel, and released by Fox 2000 Pictures. ... Chitterlings (often pronounced CHIT-lins and sometimes spelled chitlins in common vernacular) are the small intestines of a pig that have been prepared as food. ... Integration may be any of the following: In the most general sense, integration may be any bringing together of things: the integration of two or more economies, cultures, religions (usually called syncretism), etc. ...

Ebony magazine prefers the term "urban theater circuit" for recent work like Tyler Perry's. In a January 2004 interview with him, the genre's leading practitioner, Ebony wrote that his work marked "a new chapter in the urban theater circuit as a whole--a genre that has been dogged by criticism from some Blacks in the traditional theater. Perry, as the most visibly recognized player in the circuit, has felt the brunt of this criticism. Ebony, a magazine for the African American market, was founded by John H. Johnson and has been published since the autumn of 1945. ...

"They say that Tyler Perry has set the Black race back some 500 years with these types of "chitlin' circuit' shows. The problem with the naysayers is that they don't take the opportunity to see my shows," Perry argues. "With my shows, I try to build a bridge that marries what's deemed 'legitimate theater" and so-called 'chitlin' circuit theater,' and I think I've done pretty well with that, in bringing people in to enjoy a more elevated level of theater."

At one point, the criticism made Perry feel ashamed of his productions, that is, until playwright August Wilson gave him a few words of advice.

"August said, 'Do what you do. Don't worry about these people, do what you do because I don't think it's bad at all," Perry recalls. "And his words just shed a whole new light on everything."

See also

• Borscht Belt