Soul Food Celebrating Black History Month©


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Soul Food Celebrating Black History Month©

 


At a time in the past, the NBC Cafeteria posted a special menu to celebrate Black History Month. This menu caused a bunch of bloggers and columnists to get upset about the menu. I am not sure why they are upset. I think it is a good meal except for the black-eyed Peas.


The menu is as follows according to a web page.


“Fried Chicken

Collard Greens w/Smoked Turkey

White Rice/Black-eyed Peas

Jalapeno Cornbread

16oz Fountain Soda or 20 oz Aquaria Water

Cost $7.50 “


Since I am White, I guess I am insensitive in relating to the menu that Celebrates Black History Month. I ran into this problem a bunch of years ago.


Fifteen or so years ago, I started seeing statements in newspaper articles about Soul food. I was not familiar with the phase, Soul food. I did not know if it was associated with the uplifting feeling that people get by reading a soup style inspiration book or the uplifting feeling generated by watching and listing to the musical Soul Train TV program. .


I finally got it though my head that Soul Food refers to food eaten by Black people. After spending time trying to understand Soul Food, I finally found a book in a bookstore that dealt with Soul Food. I was not impressed by the recipes contained in the book. The Soul Food was what I called country food. I have been eating country food all my life. I was disappointed, because I was looking for a new type of food to eat. I think country food is wonderful tasting, and I plan to eat it for the rest of my life. I guess my taste buds relate to Black’s taste buds more than I understood.


I guess the food called Soul Food could be called farmer food, hard-working people food, blue collar people food, honest working people food, etc. I do not expect there will be a History Month set aside for any of these classifications of people.


If I was creating the NBC menu to celebrate Black History Month, I would make the following menu.


Fried Chicken wings.

Collard Green seasoned with hog jowl with a boiled egg.

White beans.

Mashed potatoes.

Slice of onion.

Cornbread.

Banana pudding.

Sweet Ice Tea or lemonade.

The cost will depend if you are using leftovers.


This is a meal that is too good to be eaten in a five star restaurant. The food taste wonderful when eaten in a greasy spoon corner restaurant or on a chrome trimmed Formica top dinette table in a small kitchen.


The more I learned about celebrating Black History Month indicated that I have more in common with my dark-skinned sisters and brothers than I knew. I wonder how I got Black taste buds. I guess I would be more sensitive if I used “African-American” instead of Black. I am going to let my taste buds speak for me.



Dale “The Saint” Lee


A former resident of Pot Neck, Tennessee


Date last modified, September 9, 2010


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