Favorite Foods of Famous Civil Rights Leaders

It’s Black History Month and as we reflect on the contributions of African Americans, it’s always fun to discover little known facts. Oftentimes, when we hold someone in high regard, what they represent overshadows their basic humanity. We forget that underneath all the amazing accomplishments, lies a human being who’s not that different from us.

No matter which way your moral compass points, everyone loves a good plate of food. Food is the common thread which binds us all; it feeds, connects, and heals. With that in mind, I thought it could be fun to highlight the favorite foods of famous civil rights leaders. You’d be surprised how much you can learn about a person from what they like to eat. 

• ROSA PARKS
• Favorite Food: Chicken and Dumplings, Featherlite Pancakes
• Brief Background: Civil Rights activist and catalyst Rosa Parks was born February 4th, 1913. Life would lead her down a path towards civil rights, later becoming a member of the NAACP. In 1955 she became famously known for not giving up her bus seat, sparking the 381-day Montgomery Bus Boycott and making her an inspiration to many. Aside from her work in activism, she was also very much into food. She knew how to make one of her favorite dishes, chicken and dumplings, from scratch. “Auntie Rosa wouldn’t use a bowl,” says Sheila McCauley-Keys, Parks’ niece. “She used the same board she rolled the dough on, and would place the flour and salt mixture down, make a well in the center, add water, and mix with her fingers until a ball formed.” Further evidence surfaced in 2015, when the Library of Congress released personal documents of Parks’ which included a Featherlite Pancake recipe written on the back of an envelope. 

• FREDERICK DOUGLASS
• Favorite Food: Black Eyed Pea Soup, Oysters
• Brief Background: Spending his younger years as a slave, at 20, Frederick Douglass escaped to New York in pursuit of freedom. His travels would turn him into the famed abolitionist, public speaker and activist we know today. Unlike most African Americans at the time, Douglass could read and write. He would go on to publish not one, but three autobiographies. In the books, Douglass detailed life as a slave. He spoke of the foods they ate: boiled coarse cornmeal, third-rate corn, often-tainted pickled pork and poor quality herrings. Douglass felt slave masters used food as a form of control. Despite such, slaves found resourceful, sometimes “unlawful” solutions using hot ash and wrapped leaves to cook with or use their hats to mix foods. At night they’d take produce from nearby farms or fish for oysters; afterwards using the shells as eating utensils.

• MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE
• Favorite Food: Sweet Potato Pie
• Brief Background: Best known for opening the Bethune-Cookman University in Florida, Mary McLeod Bethune is an educator and civil rights leader. Growing up, Bethune had a thirst for learning and would walk four miles each way to school. One of her talents was fundraising, securing a sizable investment from John D. Rockefeller in 1905 to the tune of $62,000 (that inflates to 1.7 million today). Another way she raised money was by selling sweet potato pies. She would become so well known for her sweet potato pies that the recipe still exists today. 

• JAMES BALDWIN
• Favorite Food: Soul Food
• Brief Background: James Arthur Baldwin is a famous American writer and activist born in “Black Mecca,” otherwise known as Harlem, New York City. Considered one of the 20th Century’s greatest writers, his exploration of race, sexuality and civil rights shook up the literary world. Known for his transnational taste, Baldwin’s palate was very eclectic for the time. His love for food and criticism of its social bearings would appear in the pages of his novels Another Country and Just Above My Head. He spent his last seventeen years in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France, where he, along with his chef Valerie Sordello, would regularly host dinner parties. Baldwin’s close friend and frequent dinner guest, Jessica B. Harris, recounts in detail the experience. When not hosting, he frequented the Paris scene; his favorite soul food restaurant was Inez Cavanaugh’s Chez Inez.

• BOOKER T. WASHINGTON
• Favorite Food: Ginger Cakes
• Brief Background: A Virginia born son of a slave owner and enslaved cook, Booker Taliaferro was an author, educator and public speaker. He would later adopt the surname “Washington” from his mother’s husband Washington Furgeson. Booker T. Washington turned a hard upbringing into a lasting legacy by founding Tuskegee University. Under his guidance, Tuskegee University became a leading institute in the nation. In his writings, he shared his experiences as a slave and as an African American. With food options scarce in those days, he recalls his childhood fondness for ginger cakes, stating, “at that time those cakes seemed…to be absolutely the most tempting and desirable things that I had ever seen; and I then and there resolved that, if I ever got free, the height of my ambition would be reached if I could get to the point where I could secure and eat ginger cakes in the way that I saw those ladies doing.” 

• BILLIE HOLIDAY
• Favorite Food: Chinese Roast Duck
• Brief Background: The American jazz legend Billie Holiday was known for her unique vocal style, influencing the sound of music for years to come. Her talent was such that it broke down racial barriers. She frequently included many references to food in her songs. In her autobiography Lady Sings the Blues, she wrote, “Singing songs like ‘The Man I Love’ or ‘Porgy’ is no more work than sitting down and eating Chinese roast duck,” she wrote, adding, “and I love roast duck.” Loved on and off stage, Holiday also often cooked fried chicken for her musician friends. 

• W.E.B. DUBOIS
• Favorite Food: Bread & Milk
• Brief Background: In the year 1968, W.E.B. Dubois was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He’s known as one of the preeminent African American sociologists, historians, authors and activists from the early 20th century. He also was instrumental in the creation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). With too many accolades to name, a little known tidbit about Dubois is that he also enjoyed food writing. His writings share insight into the role food played in everyday life during his time. He once wrote, “The deceitful pork chop must be dethroned in the South and yield a part of its sway to vegetables, fruits, and fish,” a commentary on African Americans’ predilection for unhealthy plantation diets. Aside from bread and milk, you can find a list of Dubois’ favorite things here.

• HARRIET TUBMAN
• Favorite Food: Chicken, Wildberries, Hardtack Biscuits, Root Beer, Pie, and Gingerbread
• Brief Background: Although her exact birthdate is unknown, she’s known as the “Moses of her people.” Harriet Tubman lived a storied life as a slave, then escapee turned liberator as a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad. Adding to her impressive list of accomplishments, Tubman was the first African American woman to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War as a nurse, spy and cook. A little known fact about Tubman is that in order to fund her freedom efforts, she was a professional cook. As the daughter of a cook, Tubman learned the skills that would help her keep countless mouths on The Underground Railroad fed.

• MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
• Favorite Food: Sunday Feast, Quilly
• Brief Background: One of the world’s most famous civil rights activists, Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and public speaker. As the figurehead of the Civil Rights Movement, he brought a non-violent approach which helped bring the African American plight to a national stage. MLK’s love for food is well-documented. His favorites read like the veritable starting line-up of African American classics. From fried chicken to mac n’ cheese and everything in between. MLK felt that Sunday feasts were important centerpieces to family and community. He was also a huge fan of Quilly, a light dessert made-up by his mother that features gelatin, whipped cream, marshmallows and fruit salad. 

Learning about the diets of my cultural forebears has taken me past the legend and brought me closer to the person. While today we have the luxury of enjoying a wider variety of food options and lifestyle choices, it’s interesting to consider how simple the diets of these famous figures were. It goes to show how powerful food is and has always been.