How African American migrants popularized Southern barbecue.
It aptly applies to how African Americans are connected to Southern barbecue.
In essence, African Americans have long been Southern barbecue’s most effective ambassadors.
Jerrelle Guy
African Americans didn’t invent Southern barbecue.
Native Americans have that honor.
From the 16th to 19th centuries, Southern barbecue was remarkably consistent in its preparation.
Barbecuing was labor-intensive, and enslaved African Americans were forced to prepare it.
Because it’s delicious, and its preparation was scalable.
The first example of barbecue on the move happened during the antebellum period.
Barbecue cuisine was transplanted in these areas because Virginian slaveholders brought enslaved African Americans with them.
Thus, as chattel slavery spread, Southern barbecue did as well.
Barbecue’s second move was more ephemeral.
Readers often got daily progress reports on the expert’s work.
Southern barbecue became a more permanent feature of food scenes around the country, thanks to the Great Migration.
They brought Southern barbecue with them, often sparking Black entrepreneurship.
In all of these instances, many whites were getting their first taste of Southern barbecue from Black cooks.
Get Adrian Miller’s grandmother’sbarbecue sauce recipe.
Southern barbecue also thrived in the private lives of these Black migrants.
We were physically distanced from the region, but our love for one of its iconic foods never budged.
