Celebrate Emancipation with stories of food and Black liberation.

June 19, 2023 9:37 AM

Introducing Gastro Obscura’s Juneteenth Series by guest editor Michael Twitty [Atlas Obscura] Beyond red cake and soda, food holds a special place on Juneteenth. Like Emancipation itself, the withheld promise of true freedom and equality continues to be fought for, and food remains a key weapon in that battle. [...] The African American food experience is intimately tied to all of the elements discussed here—the celebration of the push and the movement towards equality; the expressive eloquence and power of Black music, dance, and oratory; and the communication of soul energy through food as well as the migrations and movements that have pushed Black people across history’s landscape. : The Legacy of a Civil Rights Icon’s Vegetarian Cookbook | 6 Restaurants That Celebrate Black History | The Chef Fighting Mass Incarceration With Food | The Civil Rights Icon Who Saw Freedom in Farming | A Rare Recipe From a Talented Chef Enslaved by a Founding Father | How a West African Woman Became the ‘Pastry Queen’ of Colonial Rhode Island | The Underground Kitchen That Funded the Civil Rights Movement | The Story Behind Red-Hued Juneteenth Food and Drink

Bonus links: The Takeout: Flavor & Soul | Watermelon and the seeds of Black freedom | Confusion and connection: The yams and sweet potatoes of the African Diaspora | Collard greens: A different kind of root vegetable | On the enduring significance of potato salad | Barbecue traces an unbroken line of Black culinary history | 12 recipes for Juneteenth cookouts, including ribs and red velvet cake | How Food Helped Me Reconnect With Juneteenth |

posted by Fizz (6 comments total)

I am definitely going to try making Nicole Taylor's sweet potato spritz.

Thanks for rounding up these links.

Happy Juneteenth!
posted by the primroses were over at 9:57 AM on June 19, 2023 [3 favorites]

Oh thank you for this. I just got finished reading Koshersoul by Twitty and I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him. This looks like another great angle.
posted by jessamyn at 10:56 AM on June 19, 2023 [1 favorite]

Further Reading (Amazon Link)
High on the Hog by Jessica B Harris
High on the Hog

Adapted into a Netflix Docuseries
High on the Hog

Sadly, I haven’t read the book yet but the Netflix series is really great.
posted by Eikonaut at 11:59 AM on June 19, 2023 [1 favorite]

I want to read a whole book about Georgia Gilmore (The Underground Kitchen link). She sounds amazing.
posted by EvaDestruction at 1:20 PM on June 19, 2023 [1 favorite]

I am intrigued by the navy bean pie and though I am very far from Brooklyn, I would be delighted to try it. It’s listed as an alternative/oppressive-history-free analogue to Sweet Potato Pie so I assume it’s a sweetened puree - maybe with some nods to sweet red beans and mung beans in East Asian pastry?
posted by janell at 3:50 PM on June 19, 2023

Janell, you can still buy bean pies in several places around Philly so I have had the pleasure of trying one. The beans are completely puréed, and the flavor profile is more similar to pumpkin or sweet potato pie than Asian red bean. (Per googling recipes, the spices used appear to be cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg). It’s been a while since I’ve had one, but I remember being surprised at how similar it was to sweet potato.

It just occurred to me now that I live near a block that’s almost entirely full of Black Muslim-owned businesses, and there is probably excellent bean pie to be had there. I will take a walk up later this week and report back.
posted by ActionPopulated at 4:46 PM on June 19, 2023 [8 favorites]