chitlin circuit

or chit·lin' cir·cuit

[ chit-lin sur-kit ]

noun

, Informal.

1. a group of clubs and theaters featuring Black performers and intended to appeal to Black people.

Word History and Origins

Origin of chitlin circuit¹

First recorded in 1965–70; so called because of the assumption that chitlins (one of several dialect pronunciations of chitterlings ( def ) ) are eaten mostly by African Americans

Example Sentences

The “Cowboy Carter” doesn’t shy away from country: the track list has teased potential collaborations with Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson and included a mention of the “Chitlin’ Circuit,” a Jim Crow-era network of Black entertainment venues.

From Seattle Times

And the party he threw that was inspired by the history of the Chitlin Circuit, music venues across the U.S. famous for hosting Black performers.

From Los Angeles Times

Wilson was especially stung when Henry Louis Gates Jr. challenged his authenticity in the 1997 New Yorker article “The Chitlin Circuit.”

From Los Angeles Times

Venues on the national chitlin circuit included glitzy palaces in large cities like Indianapolis and Houston and glorified jukes in smaller towns.

From New York Times

Club Ebony, a famed blues venue in Indianola, Miss., that was part of the chitlin circuit — a loose network of Black-owned clubs and venues in segregated American cities — has hosted hundreds of memorable moments.

From New York Times