When we think about the origins of Soul Food, we think about staples like collard greens, black eyed peas and cornbread. We think about table scraps left over by our oppressor repurposed to help us survive. While those thoughts have merit, it too often diminishes the fact that Africans forcibly brought to the Western hemisphere also brought with them ingenuity, creativity, skills and the very seeds to plant crops the “New World” had not known. Sewn into clothes and braids and carried on their very bodies were crops like cassava, plantain, rice and okra.
If we’re going to be really honest about history, African exploration that predates Columbus had already created exchange between African, Asian and Indigenous communities. The centuries of knowledge shared among tribal communities would lay the groundwork for Black food culture in the Americas. It comes as no surprise to anyone paying attention to the similarities between staples in North America, South America and the Caribbean, that Africa is at the root of it all.
Why is this important in the context of a political column? Well I’m glad you asked. The underlying message to ourselves and the rest of the world is that A.) Civilization would be nothing without our contribution and B.) We are natural born survivors that cannot be easily swept away. The Black contribution to the modern world is undeniable, yet too many people (including many Black people) live in a state of denial.
Everyday, they try to wash away the significant contributions of Black people to the very modern comforts that so many of us enjoy. Whether it is the agricultural and culinary contributions of enslaved African people, the 300 plus uses of peanuts and soybeans by George Washington Carver, the teachings of Nearest Green to a young Jack Daniels, or the eleven herbs and spices used by Black domestics that have inspired a multi-billion dollar fast food industry, the genius of Black people has always been on full display.
Too often it is overlooked, unappreciated or blatantly disregarded. Despite the desires of people like Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump to continue to bury the very real history and contributions of Black people, we are here and we will continue to teach the truth.
My message to Black people is simple, take your rightful place in the shaping of the American story, because we’ve always been here. My message to non-Black people is equally simple, stop acting as if you don’t need us and treat African people and their descendents with the respect and admiration deserved of a group of people that have made your lives way better than you could’ve imagined or done for yourselves.
We’re inextricably linked and our collective fates are tied to one another. Considering our knack for survival, it may even be in your best interest to take a few notes.
Dwight M. Bullard is a former Florida state senator and the senior political advisor of Florida Rising.