The 1958 “Historical Cookbook of the American Negro” proves that a cookbook can be an object of delight without being full of glossy photos of food. The recipes in the book, interspersed with history and reproduced ephemera, take on new significance, offered as tributes to
The cookbook’s editor, civil rights activist Sue Bailey Thurman, knew exactly what she was doing. As the founder and editor of the Aframerican Women’s Journal, she spearheaded publications efforts for the National Council of Negro Women, including this innovative cookbook. Recipes were solicited from different regional sections of the NCNW, and arranged in a chronological format around important dates. Thurman was a historian and she wove biographies throughout the book – including Maryland natives Harriet Tubman and Benjamin Banneker- as well as (of course) NCNW founder Mary McLeod Bethune and many other contemporary and historical figures.
In the preface, Thurman called the book a “palatable approach to history” – it was a way to celebrate food and cooking, while also presenting a summary of neglected aspects of black history.
Sadly, some of that history remains neglected today. While my grade schooling did include a fair amount of Langston Hughes (and this unforgettable, heartbreaking poem about Baltimore by Countee Cullen), I don’t recall reading the poetry of Frances Harper or even learning about her activism.
an engraving in ‘The Underground Railroad’, by William Still