Creative Expressions Celebrating Juneteenth is a 5-part series using creative works to reveal the essence of what Juneteenth means through the eyes of Black Texas natives.
First up is the Netflix series ‘High on the Hog’ which explores the culinary history of African American food in the U.S. In the last episode, we head to my home state of Texas and learn the role food played in celebrating the legacy of Juneteenth.
Credit: Netflix
To me Juneteenth isn’t just a day. Nor any day of the week. It’s the very essence within the souls of Black Texans who understand the sentimental power of our freedom.
In High on the Hog, Stephen (the host) went to Huntsville and met with Pastor Clinton Edison of New Zion Missionary Baptist Church to learn more about the New Zion Missionary Baptist Church BBQ Restaurant. Like I said, I want to share personal stories from Black Texas natives using these creative expressions celebrating Juneteenth.
The moment Stephen said he was in Huntsville I already knew where he was going. My friends took me there when I went to visit their church in Huntsville. And I knew my mom also was a member when she was in college there as well. While the entire episode was amazing, I wanted to touch on how New Zion Missionary Baptist Church has a personal connection to my family.
This is a personal story of my mom’s experience being a college student away from home and how New Zion did not just give her support but one of the best life lessons she still carries with her to this day.
As a student at Sam Houston State University (SHSU), I joined New Zion Missionary Baptist Church under Watch Care. I sought a church home while away from home. I was from Fort Worth, TX. I joined the gospel choir at SHSU and immediately got involved in the community and campus activities the members participated in. As a fundraiser for our choir, we were going to sell barbeque chicken plates at a musical we would hold at New Zion. The Mission Circle told the members to be at the church early that Saturday morning to help prepare for the musical that evening.
Charlette R. Freeney
As a student in high school, my home chores were cleaning the house as per my mother’s schedule, making good grades, participating in the church youth group, sports teams at school and at least two part-time jobs at fast food restaurants. I was not a cook, I didn’t hang out in the kitchen trying to learn either. I had so many other things going on, so when we got to the church that Saturday morning to help prepare for the musical, I was shocked to see huge bowls lined up on counters in the kitchen of the church. In each bowl was a frozen chicken, a whole chicken.
My astonishment evidently shown on my face because one of the ladies looked at me and stated, “cut it into 8 pieces”. I was hesitant because I didn’t know how. A couple of other choir members grabbed their knives and started cutting up their chickens. The lady who took particular interest in my inability to cut up the chicken came alongside me and deftly showed me how to cut up that chicken into 8 parts.
I smiled and thought, ‘what a great lesson, I’ve got it now’. I started to walk away when another frozen whole chicken in a huge bowl was placed right in front of me by another of the mission circle sisters. She stated, “okay now, you’ve got it, show us”.
Since the actual lesson was so fresh in my head, I acted quickly to get through the exercise since I was the last one to complete the task. The women smiled and complimented us. They stated that yes, we were college students and going to do great things in life, but we also needed to know and remember how to take care of ourselves.
There was a barbecue restaurant attached to the church I was a member of that was renowned. As students, we just ate there when we had money. I’ll never forget that morning life lesson disguised as an introduction to cooking lesson. Unbeknownst to me those ladies and that church were part of the history of food in America.
My mom and I
Through food the people at New Zion Missionary Baptist Church gave students like my mom a place to feel at home.
Through food the people at New Zion Missionary Baptist Church gave life lessons to the younger generation.
Most importantly, through food the people at New Zion Missionary Baptist Church kept the essence of Juneteenth alive. The essence that our food will not just be something we use to celebrate with but our food would be ways we show care for one another when no one else in the world does. And ways to teach life lessons.
This is what I took away from High on the Hog. It was more than just the food. Or even the mention of Juneteenth. High on the Hog displayed how food has been used throughout our history especially after we were officially declared free as a way to keep our community’s history passed from one generation to the next.
Awesome