Day 13: Before You Can Thrive, You Must Survive
And in order to survive, one needs food...
Before you can thrive, you must survive.1
As new arrivals here in Lynchburg 7 years ago, the first thing that we wanted to do was to immerse ourselves into this new culture.
How did we do that? Do as the locals do: eat what they eat, go where they go. That means Buffalo Wild Wings on a Saturday night and Thomas Road Baptist Church on a Sunday morning, yes?
…until one finds one’s own path.
For me, that path generally involves books: libraries, knowledge, and local culture.
‘Anytime you lose knowledge, there’s an opportunity for someone else to come in and make you believe something that’s not true’.2
Desperate to avoid such ignorance, I joined the library to borrow books in their droves about the food of the South because, as a self confessed greedy gourmand, I knew that in the food lay the soul of our new land.
I was fascinated to find it commonplace that the term ‘soul food’ was linked to African American culture (do we not all have ‘souls’ needing to be fed?), linked to the food created and cooked by the enslaved and indentured, making the most of the scraps left behind by their ‘masters.’ (I shake my head in horror at that term but find no alternative nor, in actuality, a desire to hide from that truth, however horrid it may be: we must face it in order to learn from it.)
A teacher at the time, I asked the school librarian about a book reviewed in ‘Living in Lynchburg,’ a free magazine in our area; Bound to the Fire: How Virginia's Enslaved Cooks Helped Invent American Cuisine.3 From the title alone, I thought everyone of a similar mind must have heard about this book and equally be fascinated by it. The librarian did not have a copy, nor had she yet heard of it. However, she thought it right, as it was, to be on the school’s inventory and promptly purchased it, allowing me to be its first reader since I had been its introducer.
From it, I learned the origins of the ubiquitous American side dish ‘mac ‘n cheese,’ a creamy béchamel coating elbow macaroni.4 Many believe the combination of macaroni, cream, and cheese was first created by an enslaved cook by the name of James Hemings at the home of Thomas Jefferson.5 Not true: he merely recreated it, the dish having originated in Europe, and thus it became popular by virtue of being linked to the great third president of the United States.
As an esteemed diplomat, Jefferson was naturally emulated by the socially mobile classes, and so was his–or rather his cook’s–cuisine. Hemings became the original ‘influencer’ of this dish, and certainly influenced his fellow contemporary cooks.6 However, had Hemings not served in such a prominent household, his variation on the European classic may likely have not become quite so popular. In other words, “...if it’s not seen in the right place by the right people, others aren’t interested.”7
Deetz’s book proved an interesting read, but for me, a little lacking, and so I kept searching and learning. It is a common theme: Google it and you will see in an instant the myriad titles that exist on how the food of the slave made its way onto the favorite plates that continue to this day.
In the words of Stephen Satterfield, food writer and presenter of the inimitable Netflix docuseries, High on the Hog,
“Food stands at the intersection of culture and community building, making it a powerful tool for social change…a powerful tool to have; an even greater tool to be able to withhold.”8
In the first episode of the second series, the guests discuss the concept that systemic forces are keeping the underprivileged, regardless of color or creed, away from healthy food which has, in turn, led to the creation of so-called ‘food deserts.’
Lynchburg is such a city with food deserts9: places with no access to fresh food. According to the Red Truck Ministry–‘...a ministry of Jesus Christ that seeks to provide healthy food for those in need’10 –Lynchburg has 8 such designated spots within Lynchburg City alone.11 For example, some residents have access only to their local gas-station store as their sole means for groceries; gas stations notoriously sell only convenience foods, heavily processed: unhealthy.
But how can that be in a city, home to arguably the largest Christian university in the United States and other seats of Higher Education besides, with international businesses, and an ever increasing demand and building of residential property?
It can be, because not everyone has the ability to either pay the prices of the stores available, or because their ability to reach those stores is restricted: no bus route, no other means of public transport, no personal vehicle. The stores are often not accessible on foot.
America is founded upon its pursuit of happiness, and Karen Washington claims, ‘we [the African American community] brought the essence of ‘the American’.12 What does she mean by this? One can only speculate: the fight for freedom, the cultural melting pot, the strength gained through adversity. Do you agree?
If Deetz is right, then without the (African) enslaved cook, the American cuisine, which we know today, would be entirely different.
If Washington is right, then without the African American community, the essence of America would be missing; lost.
Food is culture. At times of celebration or need for succor, people will search out and recreate the dishes of their childhood, their home, and thus celebrate their culture. Thus, renowned dishes such as collard greens, corn bread (any derivation of corn/maize, since this was readily available, affordable and plenty, both in colonial times as it is now), fried okra and others besides are all now known as ‘soul food.’
‘Soul food,’, that is food that feeds the soul, or comfort food (to my mind the very definition of ‘soul food’), is food which we all associate with home, wherever we are from. Food can take you ‘home’ wherever you go.13 Soul food, and now Southern staples, involve the produce that was farmed easily by the enslaved community, growing crops they knew from their home lands that worked well in their new: vegetables such as okra, rice, and beans.
The bean is such an important staple to many cultures, using the bean, as opposed to animal, for protein due to scarcity through poverty or availability. In High in the Hog, Satterfield makes a point of including Black Muslim as well as Christian cultures into the food-activism fray:
“Satterfield explores the iconic bean pie and the role Black Muslims played in the Civil Rights Movement, how many elements of the movement were about the right to dine with dignity or have access to healthy food, and the importance of returning to the land.” 14
One of the guests at Satterfield’s dinner debate15 proffers the bean as a metaphor for the African American community: hard and durable.16
Dr Jessica B. Harris takes us further by giving us a way forward, stating both literally and metaphorically, “I’d like to hope that food can bring us together.”17
And it does. When any ‘family’, be they kin or companion, gather together to a table of dishes from the cultural melting pot that is America, we must remember and acknowledge that community effort… and give thanks.
Writer’s note: Interested in helping support food justice by providing dignity to our neighbors through the access to good food? See: https://sharegreaterlynchburg.org/
High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America [Netflix streaming] 2021, presented by Stephen Satterfield and based on the book, High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America Harris, Jessica B., Bloomsbury, 2012.
KJ Kearney in High on the Hog Series 2, Episode 1
Bound to the Fire: How Virginia’s Enslaved Cooks Helped Invent American Cuisine by Kelley Fanto Deetz, University Press of Kentucky, 2017
Interestingly James Hemings was the half-brother of John Hemings, a master craftsman who contributed to the building of Poplar Forest. See article from Bridge of Lament Collective 2024, Day 2 Who Built Lynchburg?
Love Mac and Cheese? You Can Thank the Slave of a Founding Father for It
High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America ‘If it’s not seen in the right place by the right people, others aren’t interested’ and ‘show them the same love’ are the words of KJ Kearney, founder of the James Beard Award nominated social media account, @BlackFoodFridays , a call-to-action, encouraging all to be intentional with their support of Black owned food/beverage businesses by purchasing from them each and every Friday.
High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America
No solution in sight for Lynchburg food desert | WFXRtv
Red Truck Ministry
High on the Hog, Series 2 Episode 1
Writer’s note: Soul food is most closely associated with the Southern States as this is where the majority of Plantations were and thus the enslaved population. For further soul food links with the Southern States: https://ushistoryscene.com/article/slavery-southern-cuisine/ For further food writers linked with African American heritage, see other influential African American food writers and chefs including Freda DeKnight and Lena Richard, the pioneer food writer, ‘the celebrity chef who broke barriers in the Jim Crow South.
High on the Hog, Series 2, Episode 1
High on the Hog, Series 2, Episode 1. Writer’s note: this metaphor of the bean is akin to the elements included with the Jewish festival of Passover, comprising ingredients and flavors to represent their ‘bitter struggle in their successful flight from Egypt as an enslaved population.
High on the Hog, Series 2, Episode 1
This is a well written and interesting article.
Being from Texas, it reminds me of the origin of brisket barbecue, which is considered the very best barbecue today. When the Texas cattlemen were working their herds North to the stockyards of Kansas and Chicago they would butcher one of the cattle for their meal on the open range. They gave the poorest cuts of beef to the black cowhands, who learned to prepare it to be the most tasty meal, resulting in today’s barbecue brisket, which is now the most desirable and most expensive barbecue.
I do not understand why all of the writers of this series are White. This may be an unfair comment as I am also white, but this particular essay borders on cultural appropriation. Read author/chef Edna Lewis on Southern Cooking. Read "The Cooking Gene" by Michael Twitty.