Shauna Anderson

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Shauna Anderson is a Native American and African-American restaurateur, author, historian, and businesswoman, whose work has been inducted into the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Museum and Center for African American History.^[1][2] Her autobiography Offal Great: Memoirs of The Chitlin Queen^[3] is in the Smithsonian Anacostia Library and the Maryland Historical Society Library.^{[citation needed]}

Early life[]

Shauna Anderson was born in Washington, D.C. to Geneva Anderson, a professional singer and piano player and Walter Christopher Holmes, a saxophone player.^{[citation needed]} She was raised by her maternal grandmother, Virginia L. Battle.^{[citation needed]}

Career[]

She worked as an Economic Statistician with the Internal Revenue Service for 15 years,^[4] eventually utilizing the accounting and wealth building skills she learned at the IRS to begin her entrepreneurial ventures.^[5]

Anderson started working in the chitlin business in the early 1990s.^{[citation needed]} Her "Hand Cleaned Pork Chitterlings" earned her the moniker "The Queen of Chitlins" by former Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., and Saveur Magazine named Anderson "the source for chitlins" in 2007.^{[citation needed]} Anderson had previously developed her own guidelines for cleaning chitlins when she discovered that Maryland Health Department and the U.S. Department of Agriculture had no regulations for the cleaning process.^{[citation needed]}

In 1995, Anderson opened her restaurant, "The Chitlin Market" in Prince George’s County, Maryland.^[6] Her business was depicted on an episode of ABC’s drama “Commander in Chief”, which sparked outrage from city officials. A 2007 news article from The Hill stated that her restaurant became a prop for ABC’s "stereotype of a poor, dangerous black neighborhood,” and the show was denounced by then County Executive Jack Johnson.^[7]

In 2006, Anderson sued the county for what she claims were deliberate, concerted efforts to shut down the Chitlin Market.^[8] Her legal case was dismissed by Prince George's County Judge Sherri L. Krauser and was investigated by Senator Barbara Mikulski's office.

Anderson is in the process of producing a documentary based on her short-lived business experience on Ager Road and the depiction of her business as “demeaning to the community.”^{[citation needed]} She currently sells chitlins online and directly to restaurants and churches.^{[citation needed]}

Anderson's work has been featured in Saveur Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Jet Magazine and CNN.^[9][10]

Books[]

• Anderson, Shauna; Place, Elizabeth, Offal Great-A Memoir from the Queen of Chitlins, Hyattsville, MD 2006. ISBN 978-0-9792878-0-0

References[]

• Trescott, Jacqueline (April 23, 2003). "Guts Get Some Overdue Glory: Chitlin Merchant's Gift Feeds Museum's Plans." The Washington Post.
• Lewis, Nicole. "Shauna Anderson is using real estate to create multiple streams of income". Black Enterprise Magazine.
• Randle, Leila. "Newsletter May 2003". [1] Soul Family Travels. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
• Nicholls, Walter. "Guts to Glory". [2] www.washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
• Delaney, Arthur. "Queen of Chitlins wages war on PG County Council". [3] www.thehill.com. The Hill. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
• [4] "Maryland Businesswoman Sues County". Global Wire. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
• Meyer, Eugene. "Cashing in on Chitlins". [5] www.washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
• Merida, Kevin (May 5, 2002). ""Gut Instinct Chitlins online seemed like a good idea at the time. And it still does"". The Washington Post.

External link[]

• Shauna Anderson website