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Slaves in West Africa before contact with Europeans lived mainly on a diet that was low in meat protein except for those who lived near the water where fish were plentiful. Their diet consisted mainly of maize,(corn) rice, peanuts, dried beans, and yams. After contact with Europeans and arriving in the U.S. the slave diet became a little richer based partly on the fact that a well-fed slave meant good productivity in the fields. So around the year 1865, near the end of slavery in this country, most slaves could depend on food rations that included some kind of meat or meat scraps, corn meal, lard, molasses, flour, greens, and peas. Those food items could sometimes be supplemented with fruit and nuts where available.
As mentioned in the title (ex-slaves and slaves) in 1865 not all of the slaves in the United States were freed on June 19th, 1865 so for those that remained enslaved the above rations list was still in place. For the newly freed slaves, freedom from slavery meant the cutting off of their usual rations with the majority of fresh meat in their area being consumed by union troops taking over the southern stronghold in Galveston Texas, and throughout the south. So, I can be really sure just what the ex-slave feeding habits were immediately after slavery ended in the south. The Freedmen's Bureau would later be set up to address this issue. A year later though, around the time of the first official celebration of Juneteenth in June 1866, things were settled enough that at the first official celebration of the end of slavery in this country at the 1966 Juneteenth Celebration there were many of the food items we have today are on the menu.
Peppered rabbit, okra soup, chicken, and Hominy (another form of corn usually made into grits) were a part of the first official celebration of Juneteenth. As the celebration spread outside of texas BBQed and grilled meats, greens, potato salad, cornbread, and a lot more familiar southern soul food dishes could be found at the Juneteenth Celebration. Something that has always been associated with the end of slavery celebration is the drinking of something red. Believed to be a West African tradition that survived in African people transported across the Atlantic Ocean to the U.S., the color red was associated with prosperity in West Africa. In the U.S. the color red also symbolized the blood spilled by the African people to be free. Long before the underground railroad slaves had been self-emancipating. Sometimes peacefully sometimes not.
There was bloodshed in slave revolts and slave uprisings to go along with the bloodshed from the thousands of black lives who fought for this nation in the war for independence, in 1776, which did not make the slaves free. The Civil War, in 1865, did result in American Africans being set free. That is what makes the color red important to the Juneteenth Celebration. While today's descendants of the slaves, like me, may enjoy many of the same foods our enslaved ancestors did the food is still just a small part of the Juneteenth Celebration.
The main celebration of Juneteenth is all about freedom. A freedom our ancestors could only dream about. Juneteenth is also a celebration of family and a family celebration. The ancestors, slave families, could not depend on family gatherings and get-togethers because back in 1865 many slave families were separated by slavery, and sold apart from each other. Freedom from slavery meant that families could no longer be separated from each other by slavery, and that, while families might not live in the same house they could still come together for events like Juneteenth, the independence day that outshined the July 4th Celebration by making All Americans, including American Africans, free.
Add some good-tasting soul food with something red to drink, some African drum music, sports events, and a parade and you have a family holiday celebration that outshines all the others for American African people.
