Juneteenth’s real meaning is written on the plates of smoked meats, potato salad and watermelon
Families at Comanche Crossing say smoked meat and potato salad turn Juneteenth into a shared memory of freedom, survival and community.
- After 60 years, the author's father returned to Washington Park near Comanche Crossing on Lake Mexia, Texas, recounting Juneteenth memories and saying, "Visiting Comanche Crossing on Juneteenth felt like freedom."
- Black Texans celebrated June 19, 1865, when Union troops announced freedom in Texas, two-and-a-half years after the Emancipation Proclamation and six months before the 13th Amendment abolished slavery.
- Culinary historian Jessica B. Harris wrote in her 2011 book, High on the Hog, that "The backbone of Juneteenth festivities has always been the table," reflecting emancipatory food power for survival and self-determination.
- Three Black boys, known as the "Comanche Three," drowned in 1981 while being transported by police across Lake Mexia, causing attendance at the annual celebration to drop sharply afterward.
- Historian Amilcar Shabazz noted in his book Advancing Democracy that before Black Texans had their own schools and churches, they had Juneteenth, establishing the holiday's enduring significance in Black history.
28 Articles
28 Articles
The Conversation
Juneteenth’s real meaning is written on the plates of smoked meats, potato salad and watermelon
A Juneteenth celebration at Franklin Park in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood in 2014. Zack Wittman/The Boston Globe via Getty Images“Visiting Comanche Crossing on Juneteenth felt like freedom,” my father said as we pulled into Booker T. Washington Park, the site near what used to be known as the historic Comanche Crossing on Lake Mexia in Texas. “Listen, Bobby, this place would be full of Black folks cooking, dancing, and playing music. It was a b…
Juneteenth’s actual that means is written at the plates of smoked meats, potato salad and watermelon
“Visiting Comanche Crossing on Juneteenth felt like freedom,” my father mentioned as we pulled into Booker T. Washington Park, the web site close to what was once referred to as the ancient Comanche Crossing on Lake Mexia in Texas. “Listen, Bobby, this place would be full of Black folks cooking, dancing, and playing music. It was a big festival with fireworks and a party.” It were greater than six many years since my father had visited the park …
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