The Cultural Power of Barbecue among Enslaved Americans

Brigitte Brown completed the history MA capstone in the summer of 2024. Her defense video examines barbecue culture among slaves in the Antebellum southern United States. Drawing from a rich collection of oral histories, she explores how barbecue functioned as an important meal created by and for black enslaved Africans.

Culture, regional pride, and culinary choices are deeply connected, and a given dish can tell us a lot about the history of any region and culture. Just as pizza, barbecue, and frybread connects New Yorkers, Chicagoans, various Southern states, and Native Americans to their culture and their history, respectively, the anticucho serves the same purpose for Peruvians.