Nineteen Fifty-Six Vol.4 Issue 2

What’s Cookin’
Kamari McIver
Black culture is a collection of many unique customs and traditions, like singing, dancing
and cooking.
“Cooking plays an important role in the Black community. It brings us all together,” said chef
Pleshette Bevelle, a Shelton State Community College culinary instructor. “It is one of the ways we
show that we love each other. It’s our escape.”
Though preparing a meal is a custom performed by many families worldwide, for Black people,
cooking is more than simply preparing a meal.
”The heritage of many recipes considered today to be soul food were founded in the crops and
techniques first developed by enslaved communities,” according to an article by GBH.
Enslaved Black people were only given the slave owners’ leftovers. With this, slaves found a sense
of camaraderie in turning those leftovers into a meal they could enjoy.
For example, hushpuppies are extremely popular in Southern culture. When fishermen would take
a piece of lightly fried dough and feed it to their dogs, so they’d remain quiet during hours of
the night, according to an article from Serious Eats, a website notable for culinary history. Few
acknowledge that this was a tactic implemented by slaves who would use the same method when
trying to escape.
Another dish made popular by Black people is okra. Okra was originally planted because it was
believed to have nutrients that helped pregnant women have easier deliveries. However, slaves
found a way to transform this vegetable into a savory dish enjoyed by many people to this day.
Moving forward to the 1950s, during the Civil Rights Movement, cooking raised money that helped
further the movement and served as a constant reminder of the soul of Black culture and traditions,
hence the term “soul food,” according to a YouTube video from One Mic History.
“As Black people, we’ve been deprived of so many things throughout history,” Bevelle said. “So, we
did with food as we did with most of our culture. We used what we had and made it our own.”
Cooking allows us to create new memories together while embracing old ones. Because of the
history that developed these culinary customs, the Black community will always have meals that
keep the sense of culture alive.
Here are a few recipes from the Nineteen Fifty-Six’s Cookbook that you and your family will love.
Full recipes and instructions for each food can be found on the Nineteen Fifty-Six’s website.
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