As we celebrate Black History Month, we can’t let the month pass without noting how much Black people have contributed significantly to American foodways and inventions.
“There are so many foods and products that are made by Black folks, and somebody else just puts their name and label on it,” charges Diane Spivey, author of “Once You Go Black, You Never Go Back: The National and International Impact of African American Cuisine in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries” and “At the Table of Power: Food and Cuisine in the African American Struggle for Freedom, Justice, and Equality.”
There’s a wealth of history about our contributions to America’s cuisine, but some you have to really dig for. Here’s a look at just ten fun Black history food facts.
Origins
- The first Black history food fact is that many of the crops Americans take for granted originally came from Africa. “Some of the crops brought to the Americas from Africa include beans, okra (gumbo), peanuts (goobers), watermelon, yams, coffee, bananas, palm oil, and rice,” notes Spivey. “And those crops were brought to the Americas, along with enslaved Africans to plant and harvest them.” So, don’t get it twisted! Our ancestors were brought here because of the farming and other skills they already had before they got here.
- Public schools nationwide have federally funded free breakfast programs for low-income children for decades. But did you know the Black history food fact about the Black Panther Party originating the idea? The Black Panthers’ Free Breakfast for School Children Program started in an Episcopal church in Oakland, California, in 1969 and lasted through the early 1970s.
Party members solicited donations from grocery stores and fed thousands of children across the country. It helped to increase students’ attention in school by decreasing the number of children falling asleep and complaining of stomach cramps from not having breakfast at home. In 1975, the U.S. government made free breakfast in schools a permanent program.
Pioneers
- The Hemings Brothers are a fun, family Black history food fact. When Thomas Jefferson was serving as U.S. Minister to France in the late 1700s, he took his enslaved chef, James Hemings (older brother of Sally Hemings and half-brother of Jefferson’s wife, Martha), who was only 19 at the time. Jefferson had Hemings apprentice to chefs in Paris over the course of three years, and he eventually became head chef at the embassy for the American delegation, where he cooked for European elite and international guests.
Upon their return to the United States, Hemings brought back the techniques and recipes he had learned abroad and implemented them at Jefferson’s Monticello home in Virginia. One of those recipes was for what Hemings called macaroni pie, which he eventually renamed macaroni and cheese – a staple on Black menus at home and in restaurants. Hemings became known as “The Father of American Cuisine.”
Spivey notes, “Thomas Jefferson promised James his freedom if he would train his brother Peter in the art of cookery. So he did, and he was liberated.” Peter not only learned the art of cooking, but he also learned the art of brewing. He took over the brewing and malting operations at Monticello and became America’s first master brewer. Both brothers were America’s first Black celebrity chefs.
By Kalin Thomas
