Come Get A Slice (The Significance of Cornbread)

Corn was a common crop in southern states that took on various forms one of them being cornbread which is used as a side dish in southern food. The origin of cornbread goes back to American Indians learning how to dry or roast corn by making it into bread by grinding it. This helped colonists survive the harsh first years of being in the Americas.

The history of this southern delicacy dates back to the enslavement of Africans where they were given certain amounts of food that they had to ration by their enslavers. This led them to become reliant on cornbread due to its accessibility and the longevity of this cultural dish. In the Digital Archive, I searched cornbread where I found a lot of videos that primarily focused on the nostalgic smells that surrounded their homes one of them being cornbread. Historymaker, Roger Furgerson (Chief Executive officer, economist, and lawyer) looks back on his childhood growing up in Washington D.C. where he recalls the smalls of greenery that surrounded his environment and the cooking. He states that growing up “but cornbread is another one of my favorite foods, you know, and so you can imagine, you know, those sorts of, you know, great smells from the kitchen.” [1]. Then I found an interview from E. Ethelbert Miller (Poet and Academic Administrator) where he talked about his experience as a student at Howard University (Washington, DC) where he is looking at the various foods in the cafe where they had oxtails, chitlins, and other foods that he said that Miller is not to found of. However, when it came to holidays like Thanksgiving he emphasizes “But what happened out in Brooklyn, you would get a really good turkey for Thanksgiving and stuff like that. And sweetbread, yes, sweetbread, I love that.” [2]. Through the interview, Miller leans into the nostalgia of having “soul food” and the community that surrounded him during that time in his life. “But you know, those are the things that when I look back now were really good times, because they were large family gatherings. [3]”

Pictured is E. Ethelbert Miller

Pictured is Roger Fergerson

Willye White (Founder of the Willye White Foundation)  talks about her favorite foods like “cornbread, greens, you know, collards, turnips, the Southern soul food. I'm a Southerner so I like Southern foods.” [4]. I thought that the quote that could showcase how vital cornbread is in Black southern food.  Additionally, Honorable George L. Brown ( the first African American Colorado State Representative, State Senator, and Lieutenant Governor.) tells us how his parent’s first date went.” And she said all through (unclear) the movie that he kept putting his hands in his pockets and eating something. And so she said to herself, "This is one fella, this is the last date I'll have with him because he is so selfish, you know, he's eating candy out of his pocket and he hasn't offered to buy me anything at all, just a ticket to the movies." And she, a couple of days later, ran across his sister, my aunt Ethel, and she was telling me, said, "You set up that date for us, but, you know, your brother is very selfish. You know, he, all during the movies, he kept eating."[5]. I thought that this story was interesting because it told an innocent story of his father’s love of cornbread and how his father was eating crumbled-up cornbread in his pocket which his father told him “He was ashamed that he didn't offer her any.” [6]. Which ultimately did not cause anything bad to happen because they did end up getting married and starting a family.  

Picture is Athlete Willye White

As I continued my searches, I came across an interview with Martha Reeves (Lead singer of Martha and the Vandellas). Reeves talked about growing up in a family of twelve siblings where her mother who he considered a workaholic knew to give her children special responsibilities to keep everyone busy, Reeves recalls them listening to the radio occasionally where they would sing which she states “I think music helped us get through a lot of the poverty that we suffered with just dad working. Mom never had a job. And they made ends meet. She would be able to make meals with very little, having had to experience it in the South.” [6] Marva Lee Pitchford-Jolly (was a tenured professor of ceramics at Chicago State University) (1937-2012) “I--when I've been away, for instance, one of them, my favorite things to do is to come home and bake or grill some chicken, cook some greens and some corn and some sweet potatoes and some cornbread. That just seems to get my journey back on track. You know, there is nothing to me like the smell of turkey dressing and macaroni or chicken, greens, sweet potatoes, cornbread. That--those are just, they're in my bones, you know, even though I eat all kinds of foods, you know. But those will ever--you know, you just go hmm, you know. You know, you can smell that Sunday dinner cooking, yeah.” [7] Another interesting memory comes from Vernon Jones (County Government Administrator & is the youngest CEO of DeKalb County, Georgia.)

Pictured is Martha Reeves

Pictured is politician Vernon Jones

 “And I can remember one time being at my, my, my aunt's house, who, gosh, boy, she, she loved the preacher, and she was--she had fixed dinner. We were over there, and there was a widower, a man named Mr. Ted Quick [ph.], a great American, World War I [World War One, WWI] veteran. The preacher was there, he was there, and they were talking. They were about to eat. And they were talking about cornbread. The preacher was talking about how much he loves cornbread, and old man, Mr. Ted Quick, was saying that he loved it, but he was talking about how much he ate when he was a kid. He said that I'd eaten so much cornbread.” [8]

Lastly, through my searches about cornbread, I found a lot of love attached to this American delicacy. Not only did I find videos from persons that are from that south that can talk about their childhood experience coming home from church and getting ready to eat some soul food with some cornbread on the side. I discovered that what was known to me as a southern delicacy had a similar impact on Black people in the north. 

Ambassador Update: This week, I emailed my judges about setting up a meeting to go over how the competition will run. I have also emailed some professors to see if they can offer extra credit for those who participate in the poetry competition. Lastly, I plan on having more submissions by the end of the week for a more competitive contest.

Citations:

Roger Ferguson (The HistoryMakers A2012.118), interviewed by Deborah Lathen, July 30, 2012, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 10, Roger Ferguson describes the sights, sounds, and smells of his childhood

E. Ethelbert Miller (The HistoryMakers A2007.216), interviewed by Cheryl Butler, July 27, 2007, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 3, E. Ethelbert Miller recalls celebrating Thanksgiving and Halloween

Willye B. White (The HistoryMakers A2002.112), interviewed by Larry Crowe, July 2, 2002, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 2, Willye White lists her favorites

The Honorable George L. Brown (The HistoryMakers A2003.018), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, January 23, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 8, George L. Brown describes how his parents met

Bernice Albertine King (The HistoryMakers A2008.032), interviewed by Denise Gines, February 27, 2008, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 3, story 8, Bernice Albertine King describes her earliest childhood memories

Vernon Jones (The HistoryMakers A2003.189), interviewed by Larry Crowe, August 14, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 2, Vernon Jones talks about the role of the church in the rural southern community of his childhood

Marva Lee Pitchford-Jolly (The HistoryMakers A2008.086), interviewed by Larry Crowe, July 15, 2008, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 5, Marva Lee Pitchford-Jolly describes the smells and sounds of her childhood

Martha Reeves (The HistoryMakers A2005.022), interviewed by Larry Crowe, January 20, 2005, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 9, Martha Reeves talks about family life during her childhood