LET'S EAT! Foods That Define Black Culture

Enslaved Africans, nearly 11 million of whom survived the Middle Passage, formed the foundation of entire economies and built nations from the ground up, including agriculturally. Contrary to the belief that they learned these skills on Southern slave plantations, the men and women brought their knowledge of farming, rice cultivation, fishing, preserving, and cooking to North, Central, South America, and every island colony along the way. This knowledge was invaluable to sustain a growing nation.

Africans also tucked away seeds before being loaded into cargo holds, and when these people were planted in new lands, so too were these seeds Okra, rice, sorghum, pigeon peas (gandules), and black-eyed peas were all introduced to new parts of the world this way.