The African American culture is responsible for most of the innovations in modern music. Blues, jazz, gospel, soul, rock and roll, rap, hip-hop, and southern soul are innovations traced to tribal music. In the world of music, my culture, the African American tribe, still can hear the beat of the drum from the mother continent.
My ancestors in Africa were in tune – spiritually to their world and universe. Tribal music of 400 years ago differed in one respect from the music of European and white American music. There was no secular music. Secular music did not exist. All African music was naturally sacred and the concept of singing sacred music was alien to them. My African ancestors used music and song to satisfy the basic functions in their lives, religion, agriculture and sexual fertility, hunting and war. Sounds familiar! In this regards, African music had more in common with the Native American music than European music, because songs were used as a means to be in harmony with nature and the universe.
Music was the most powerful tool the African slave had to keep its culture alive. Slave owners recognized this and forbid slaves to use traditional African instruments and songs during celebrations and gatherings. The banjo and drum were forbidden. In an attempt to control the spirit of the huge slave population, slave master introduced them to sacred music and edited versions of the bible. Through worship, a new and empowered being was created spiritually. Slaves quickly learned a new method of channeling and incorporated their tradition and beliefs around the platform of European sacred music. At last, they were able to communicate under the guise of praise. They held camp meeting and redeveloped their spiritual tribal connection to one another and from one plantation tribe to another. A new tribe was created through praise and worship.
From praise and music, other forms of communications were developed around their daily lives. Knowledge about free states and safe havens were passed from one slave to another by how a quilt was hung on the line, or a row was hoed, or a buggy was parked. Signed unknown by the masters, but understood by the slaves. And masters allowed, them to have their own preachers and praise and worship service; their world and America would never be the same. The discovery of the power of tribal music and sacred music, allowed slaves to gain acceptance into nineteenth century civilized society.
The singing and playing of African versions of American folk music, allowed ragtime performers like Scott Joplin to become popular and some soon became associated with the Harlem Renaissance and early civil rights activists. More and more African Americans were accepted into the American mainstream culture. Tribal music was slowly changing the culture of America.
The early part of the twentieth century saw a constant rise in the popularity of African American blues and jazz. In Harlem, musicians and singers developed their music as professionals, without any outside cultural interference. Segregated in an African-like tribal environment, creativity ruled. Harlem singers and musicians created a unique tribal music and introduced it to America and the world. Latinos and white performers delivered it into the American culture via performances on stage together. Cross-cultural communication had begun, although it had a “Latin Tinge’ to make it more acceptable.
Soon white bands were routinely playing African American music, in a simplified version for white audiences, who would not have as readily accepted black performers. This led to what is known as swing music, a pop-based outgrowth of jazz. Harlem musicians cracked the door that so many of us walked through and were responsible for the cultural changes and acceptance in our society and gave black artist the freedom we enjoy today.
By the 1940’s, cover versions of African American songs were commonplace, and frequently topped the charts. Unfortunately, the original musicians could only find success in African American audiences. Mainstream audiences were still off limits. On the horizon at the time was a generation that would introduce to the world, a class of music called rock and roll. Little Richard and Jackie Brenston would soon arrive on the African market, with their version of tribal music.
The next decade saw the first major crossover acts, with Bill Haley and Elvis Presley performing rockabilly, a rock and country fusion, while black artists like Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley received unprecedented mainstream success. Elvis Pressley went on to become perhaps the most lauded and culturally changing musician in American history and marked the beginning of the acceptance of musical tastes crossing racial boundaries among all audiences. He was also the first in a long line of white performers to achieve what some perceive as undue fame for his influence, since many of his fans showed no desire to learn about the origin of his music and its creators.
The fifties also ushered in the popularity of doo wop music and the late fifties also saw an increased popularity of hard blues in the United States and the United Kingdom. A secularized form of American gospel music called soul also developed, with pioneers like Ben E. King and Sam Cooke, leading the wave. Soul and R&B became a major influence on mainstream radio and often topped the charts.
In the 60’s, chart topping girl groups arrived on the scene. Groups named The Angels and the Shangrilas, some were white. Black divas like Diana Ross and the Supremes and Aretha Franklin became 60’s reverse crossovers. In the UK, British blues became a gradual mainstream phenomenon, returning to the United States in the form of the British Invasion. A group of bands led by the Beatles, who performed classic-style R&B, blues and pop, with both traditional and modernized aspects, changed the culture once again!
The British Invasion knocked most other bands off the charts, with only a handful of groups like the Mamas and Papas, maintaining a pop career. Soul music remained popular among blacks, but Funk evolved, and soon heavy metal emerged. Soul music needed another cross-over market outlet, to keep it financially viable, further evolved, with the creation of album-oriented soul music, with intelligent and philosophical lyrics and socially aware tones. Marvin Gayes’ “What’s Going On’ is perhaps the best-remembered of the field.
The 1970’s and 80’s were the birth decades of great black bands, groups and unprecedented singers. Sly and the Family Stones, George Clinton, P-Funk, Kool and the Gang, Earth, Wind and Fire, and the list goes on and on. Black pop artists, that included Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Whitney Houston, and Prince, who sang a type of pop dance-to soul, allowed other unique artist the ability to find a place in the mainstream market.
In 1986, Rap took off into the mainstream with Run-D.M.C., Raising Hell and the Beastie Boys, Licensed to Kill. The Beastie Boys became the first rap album to enter the number one spot on the billboard 200. Both of these groups mixed rap and rock together, which appealed to rock and rap audiences. Hip-hop took off from rap, and its golden age started. It soon became popular worldwide.
The 1990’s and 2000’s, introduced male vocal groups, New Edition, Boyz II Men, Jodeci, and Blackstreet. Boyz II Men, became the highest selling R&B male group of all time. Women groups were up to the challenge; TLC, Destiny’s Child, and En Vogue were highly popular. Destiny Child would go on to be the highest selling female vocal group of all time. Singer songwriters such as R. Kelly, Mariah Carey, Montell Jordan, D’Angelo, and Tony! Toni! Tone! were also significantly popular. The Stevie Wonder inspired sound would lead to development of neo soul artists like Lauryn Hill, Erykak Badu, India Arie, and others. Currently Usher, Alicia Keys, B2K, and Destiny’s Child continue to have success. The line between R&B, hip-hop, and rap continue to blur and evolve. Tribal music is still alive and all music still is sacred. Our culture is still spiritual and our ancestor’s music has made us all spiritual members of the tribe of the world!
The Chitlin’ Circuit
The “Chitlin' Circuit" is the name used to describe a performance venues throughout the eastern, southern, and upper mid-west areas of the United States that were safe and acceptable for African American musicians, singers and other entertainers during racial segregation. These venues served the needs of contemporary African American soul and blues performers, primarily in the South.
Famous theaters on the chitlin' circuit included the Royal Peacock in Atlanta; the Carver Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama; the Cotton Club, Small’s Paradise, and the Apollo Theater in New York City. The Robert’s Show Lounge, Club DeLisa, and the Regal Theatre were the clubs in Chicago. Other culturally important showplaces included: the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C., the Uptown Theatre in Philadelphia, the Royal Theatre in Philadelphia and in Baltimore. The Fox Theatre in Detroit, the Ritz Theatre in Jacksonville, Florida, and the Madam C.J. Walker Theatre in Indianapolis.
Many great entertainers performed on the Chitlin’ Circuit, including: Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Dorothy Dandridge, Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Sammy Davis, Jr., Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, Etta James, John Lee Hooker, Moms Mabley, Red Foxx, and Peg Leg Bates. Modern Soul and Rhythm and Blues greats; Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, James Brown, George Benson, The Jackson Five, Marvin Gaye, Little Richard, Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendricks, Wilson Pickett, Flip Wilson, Richard Pryor, Patti Labelle, Ike and Tina Turner, The Miracles, The Isley Brothers, Muddy Waters, The Supremes, Temptations, The Four Tops, also performed on the circuit.
Famous theaters on the chitlin' circuit included the Royal Peacock in Atlanta; the Carver Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama; the Cotton Club, Small’s Paradise, and the Apollo Theater in New York City. The Robert’s Show Lounge, Club DeLisa, and the Regal Theatre were the clubs in Chicago. Other culturally important showplaces included: the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C., the Uptown Theatre in Philadelphia, the Royal Theatre in Philadelphia and in Baltimore. The Fox Theatre in Detroit, the Ritz Theatre in Jacksonville, Florida, and the Madam C.J. Walker Theatre in Indianapolis.
Many great entertainers performed on the Chitlin’ Circuit, including: Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Dorothy Dandridge, Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Sammy Davis, Jr., Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, Etta James, John Lee Hooker, Moms Mabley, Red Foxx, and Peg Leg Bates. Modern Soul and Rhythm and Blues greats; Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, James Brown, George Benson, The Jackson Five, Marvin Gaye, Little Richard, Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendricks, Wilson Pickett, Flip Wilson, Richard Pryor, Patti Labelle, Ike and Tina Turner, The Miracles, The Isley Brothers, Muddy Waters, The Supremes, Temptations, The Four Tops, also performed on the circuit.
Originally called the New Negro Movement, the Harlem Renaissance was a literary and intellectual flowering that fostered a new black cultural identity in the 1920s and 1930s. This was a time when the black community was able to seize upon its "first chances for group expression and self determination." With racism still rampant and economic opportunities scarce, creative expression was one of the few avenues available to African Americans in the early twentieth century. The Harlem Renaissance was a period in time when the black culture began its transformation from social disillusionment to racial pride.
The timing of this coming-of-age was perfect. The years between World War I and the Great Depression were boom times for the United States, and jobs were plentiful in cities, especially in the North. Between 1920 and 1930, almost 750,000 African Americans left the South, and many of them migrated to urban areas in the North to take advantage of the prosperity—and the more racially tolerant environment. The Harlem section of Manhattan drew nearly 175,000 African Americans, turning the neighborhood into the largest concentration of black people in the world.
Black-owned magazines and newspapers flourished, freeing African Americans from the constricting influences of mainstream white society. Charles S. Johnson's Opportunity magazine became the leading voice of black culture, and W.E.B. DuBois’ journal, The Crisis, with Jessie Redmon Fauset as its literary editor, launched the literary careers of such writers as Arna Bontemps and Langston Hughes.
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Other luminaries of the period included writers Zora Neale Hurston, Claude McKay, Jean Toomer, Rudolf Fisher, Wallace Thurman, and Nella Larsen.
James Weldon Johnson’s, The Book of American Negro Poetry, and Alain Lock’s, The New Negro, helped define the movement.
The white literary establishment soon became fascinated with the writers of the Harlem Renaissance and began publishing their works in larger numbers. But for the writers themselves, acceptance by the white world was less important, as Langston Hughes put it, than the "expression of our individual dark-skinned selves."
A Timeline of the Harlem Renaissance
1910
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded, and W.E.B. du Bois becomes editor of their monthly magazine, Crisis
1912
James Weldon Johnson’s novel Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man is published
1917
- Marcus Garvey, born in Jamaica, arrives in Harlem and founds the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)
- Between 10,000-15,000 African-Americans join the Silent Protest Parade, marching down Fifth Avenue
- Politically radical publication The Messenger is founded
- Two of Claude McKay’s poems are published in the white literary journal Seven Arts
1919
- The 369th Infantry Regiment, a highly decorated unit of entirely African-American soldiers, returns from World War I to Harlem
- Jessie Redmon Fauset becomes literary editor of Crisis
- W.E.B. Du Bois organizes the Pan-African Congress in Paris in February
- The “Red Summer of Hate;” race riots break out in Chicago, Washington, D.C. and over twenty other American cities, June to September
- NAACP conference on lynching, which leads to the publication of Thirty Years of Lynching in the United States, 1889-1918
- Claude McKay published If We Must Die in The Liberator journal
1920
- James Weldon Johnson becomes head of the NAACP
- UNIA holds its First International Convention of the Negro Peoples of the World at Madison Square Garden, New York
- Claude McKay publishes Spring in New Hampshire
- W.E.B. Du Bois’ Darktower is published
- Eugene O’Neill’s The Emperor Jones opens at the Provincetown Playhouse in November with black actor, Charles Gilpin, in the lead role.
1921
- The Black Swan Phonograph Corporation is founded by Harry Pace; they produce “race records” which helped bring jazz to a larger audience, especially recordings of Mamie and Bessie Smith
- Langston Hughes’ poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” is published in Crisis
- Representative L.C. Dyer of Missouri sponsors an anti-lynching bill in Congress, making it a federal crime
- The first musical revue written and performed by African-Americans, Shuffle Along, by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake opens on May 22 at the David Belasco Theater on Broadway, launching careers of Josephine Baker and Florence Mills
- Exhibition of African-American art at the 135th Street branch of New York Public Library
- Marcus Garvey founds the African Orthodox Church in September
- Second Pan African Congress
- Founding of the Colored Players Guild of New York
- Benjamin Brawley ‘s Social History of the American Negro is published
1922
- Marian Anderson performs at New York’s Town Hall
- Claude McKay’s novel Harlem Shadows is published
- Meta Warrick Fuller’s sculpture Ethiopia Awakening is shown in the “Making of America” exhibition in New York
- UNIA, NAACP and YMCA march in support of Congressman Dyer’s federal anti-lynching bill
- The Harmon Foundation is established to promote black fine artists
- The Boston Public Library has an exhibition of African-American visual arts and literature
- Publication of The Book of American Negro Poetry, edited by James Weldon Johnson and Claude McKay
1923
- Willis Richardson’s The Chip Woman is produced by The National Ethiopian Art Players, becoming the first drama by a black playwright to appear on Broadway
- Joe “King” Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band records with trumpet player Louis Armstrong, they make 37 recordings together
- Duke Ellington arrives in New York with his band, the Washingtonians
- Jean Toomer’s novel Cane is published
- The Cotton Club, Harlem’s largest and most famous cabaret opens
- Aaron Douglas arrives in New York; his art style becomes the official one of the Harlem Renaissance
- Jessie Redmon Fauset’s There is Confusion is published; this is the first Harlem Renaissance book by a female writer
- Josephine Baker appears on Broadway in Chocolate Dandies
- Roland Hayes performs at Carnegie Hall
- Poems by Countee Culleen appear in four major white publications
- Zora Neale Hurston publishes her first short story in Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life
- Third Pan African Congress
- Two volume publication of Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey
1924
- Civic Club Dinner, sponsored by Opportunity, on March 21st to bring black writers and white publishers together
- The Emperor Jones opens in London, with Paul Robeson in the lead role
- Louis Armstrong joins Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra, performing at the Roseland Ballroom
- Miguel Covarrubias’ illustrations of black entertainers are featured in Vanity Fair magazine
- Paul Robeson stars in Eugene O’Neill’s All God’s Chillun Got Wings, opening May 15
- Countee Cullen wins first prize in the Witter Bynner Poetry Competition
- W.E.B Du Bois’ The Gift of Black Folk published
- Jessie Fauset’s There is Confusion is published
- Marcus Garvey’s Aims and Objects for a Solution of the Negro Problem Outlined published
- NAACP leader Walter White’s novel The Fire in the Flint is published
- Bishop Ida Robinson establishes the Mt. Sinai Holy Church of America
1925
- The new musical form known as jazz is showcased at Aeolian Hall in New York in the “First American Jazz Concert”
- Survey Graphic publishes an issue entirely about the work of Harlem Renaissance artists and writers
- Marcus Garvey is convicted of mail fraud; imprisoned in the Atlanta Penitentiary
- Marian Anderson wins a singing competition sponsored by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra
- Countee Cullen’s first volume of poetry, Color, is published
- Sargent Johnson has an exhibit of his paintings at the San Francisco Art Association
- Wallace Thurman moves to New York from Los Angeles
- Zora Neale Hurston goes to Barnard College on a scholarship to study anthropology
- White poet Vachel Lindsay reads Langston Hughes poems to an audience at his own poetry reading, and announces Hughes as a bright new talent
- The New Negro anthology introduces the ideas and ideals of the Harlem Renaissance
- Small’s Paradise nightclub opens in Harlem
- American Negro Labor Congress in Chicago, October
- Opportunity holds first literary awards dinner, honoring: Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen and Zora Neale Hurston
1926
- W.C. Handy’s Blues: An Anthology is published
- Langston Hughes’ The Weary Blues is published
- NAACP sponsored theater group, the Krigwa Players, stages three plays
- Controversial novel, Nigger Heaven, by white author Carl Van Vechten, is published
- Harmon Foundation first annual art exhibit of African-American artists’ works
- The Carnegie Corporation buys Arthur Schomburg’s collection of African-Americana, becoming the basis for the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
- The Savoy Ballroom in Harlem opens
- The short-lived literary and art magazine, Fire!!, is launched by Langston Hughes, Wallace Thurman and Zora Neale Hurston, with illustrations by Aaron Douglas and Richard Bruce Nugent
1927
- Duke Ellington begins a three-year stint at The Cotton Club
- Langston Hughes’ Fine Clothes to the Jew is published
- Marcus Garvey returns to Jamaica after being deported
- A’lelia Walker opens The Dark Tower, a nightclub and literary salon
- Porgy, the musical by Dorothy and Du Bose Heyward, opens on Broadway
- Negro Drawings by Miguel Covarrubias is published
- Sculptor Jacob Epstein arrives in New York, and has Paul Robeson sit for a portrait bust
- In Abraham’s Bosom by Paul Green, with an all-black cast, wins Pulitzer Prize in May
- Charlotte Mason becomes a patron of the New Negro, aiding financially, and becomes known as “Godmother” by many young artists and writers of the Harlem Renaissance
- Countee Cullen publishes three works: Ballad of the Brown Girl, Copper Sun and Caroling Dusk
- Arthur Fauset publishes For Freedom: A Biographical Story of the American Negro
1928
- Claude McKay’s Home to Harlem is published, becoming the first bestseller by a black author
- Poet Countee Cullen marries Nina Yolande Du Bois, daughter of W.E.B. Du Bois, on April 9th, in an elaborate celebration described as the social event of the decade
- Archibald Motley exhibits his paintings at the New Galleries in New York.
- Wallace Thurman founds Harlem as a successor to Fire!! with illustrations by Aaron Douglas and Richard Bruce Nugent
- Aaron Douglas received a fellowship to study at the Barnes Foundation in Pennsylvania
1929
- Wallace Thurman’s play Harlem opens on Broadway
- The Harmon Foundation sponsors an exhibition at the National gallery in Washington, D.C. of black artists’ works
- Wallace Thurman’s The Blacker the Berry is published
- Claude McKay's Banjo is published
- Countee Cullen’s collection The Black Christ and Other Poems is published
- Broadway premiere of Ain’t Misbehavin’ which features Fats Waller music
- The Negro Experimental Theater is founded in February
- The Negro Art theatre is founded in June
- The National Colored Players is founded in September
- The stock market crashes on October 29 – economic crisis known as the Great Depression begins, and brings an end to the ‘Jazz Age’
- Bessie Smith stars in Dudley Murphy’s film, "St. Louis Blues"
- A musical short, "Black and Tan", featuring Duke Ellington and his orchestra, is released
1930
- Marc Connelly’s The Green Pastures opens on Broadway on February 26, with an all-black cast
- Universal Holy Temple of Tranquility founded; Black Muslims open Islam Temple in Detroit
- Aaron Douglas is commissioned for a series of murals at the University of Nashville Library
- James V. Herring founds the Howard University Gallery of Art
- Painter Jacob Lawrence settles in Harlem with his family
1931
- Artist Augusta Savage opens the Savage School of Arts and Crafts in Harlem
- The Scottsboro Trial, April through July
- A’lelia Walker unexpectedly dies on August 16th
- James Weldon Johnson’s Black Manhattan, a history of Harlem, is published
- Louis Armstrong is featured in the musical short "A Rhapsody in Black and Blue"
- Langston Hughes publishes four works: Dear Lovely Death, The Negro Mother, Not Without Laughter and Scottsboro Limited
- George S. Schuyler publishes Black No More
- Vernon Loggins’ The Negro Author: His Development in America to 1900 is published
- The Father Divine Peace Movement establishes its presence in Harlem
1932
- Mass defection of blacks from the Republican Party begins
- Twenty young black intellectuals travel to Russia to make a film, "Black and White", in June
- Countee Cullen publishes One Way to Heaven
- Claude McKay publishes Ginger Town
- Langston Hughes publishes The Dream Keeper
1933
- Many Harlem Renaissance writers and artists find employment in a government-sponsored program, the Works Project Administration, designed to create American jobs
- Dudley Murphy releases a film of "The Emperor Jones" starring Paul Robeson
- Aaron Douglas created murals for the Harlem YMCA
- The National Negro Business League closes after 33 years of operation
- Jessie Fauset’s Comedy, American Style published
- Claude McKay publishes Banana Bottom
- James Weldon Johnson’s Along This Way published
1934
- Aaron Douglas is commissioned by the Harlem branch of the New York Public Library to create a serried of murals entitled Aspects of Negro Life
- Nancy Cunard, a British socialite, founds and edit the Negro Anthology
- The Harmon Foundation, with the College Art Association, begins a travelling exhibition
- Josephine Baker’s first sound film, "Zou Zou" is released in France
- The film "Harlem After Midnight" is released by Oscar Micheaux
- Zora Neale Hurston’s first novel, Jonah’s Gourd Vine, is published
- The Apollo Theatre opens
- W.E.B. Du Bois resigns from Crisis and the NAACP
- Wallace Thurman dies in the charity ward of a New York hospital on December 26th
1935
- Harlem Race Riot, March 19th, sparked by anger over discrimination by white-owned businesses
- Miguel Covarrubias illustrated Mules and Men, by Zora Neale Hurston
- African Negro Art exhibition is mounted at The Museum of Modern Art
- Carl Van Vechten’s first photographic exhibition, The Keuca Exhibition, opens at Bergdorf Goodman in New York
- Paul Robeson and Hattie McDaniel appear in James Whales’ film "Show Boat"
- Porgy and Bess opens on Broadway on October 10th with an all-black cast
- Langston Hughes’ Mulatto, the first full-length play by a black writer, opens on Broadway on October 25th
- Countee Cullen’s The Medea and Other Poems published
- Negro History in Thirteen Plays by Willis Richardson and May Sullivan published
- More than fifty percent of Harlem’s families are unemployed
1936
- Oscar Micheaux’s film, "Temptation", is released
- Aaron Douglas makes murals for the Hall of Negro Life at the Texas Centennial exposition in Dallas
1937
- Paul Robeson stars in the film, "King Solomon’s Mines"
- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is published
- Claude McKay’s Long Way from Home is published
- Revered Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. assumes the pastorate of the Abyssinian Baptist Church
1938
- Tell My Horse by Zora Neale Hurston is published
- Richmond Barthé finishes his Dance reliefs for the Harlem River Houses in New York
- Jacob Lawrence’s first solo exhibition at the Harlem YMCA opens; he finishes his Toussaint L’Ouverture series.
- Mother Horn, a Pentecostal preacher, opens her famous church in Harlem
1939
- Zora Neale Hurston’s Moses: Man of the Mountain is published
1940
- Langston Hughes’ The Big Sea is published
- Claude McKay publishes Harlem: Negro Metropolis
CULTURE AND HERITAGE IN FOOD
Rufus Estes worked for the Pullman company, as a chef looking after the unimaginably luxurious private Pullman railway cars that traveled across America in the second half of the 1800s. He had worked his way up from a porter. He later became a cookbook author.
His early childhood years were caught up in the American Civil War (1861-1865.) He was born in Murray County, Tennessee, in 1857. He was given the last name of Estes, because that was the last name of the man (D.J. Estes) who owned his family. He had two younger sisters, and six older brothers (two of which died during the American civil war) making for nine children in total.
In 1867, his family moved to Nashville, Tennessee to be with his grandmother where he was able to attend one term of school, while being expect to do many chores around the household. In 1873, at the age of 16, he started working in a restaurant in Nashville, and stayed there until he was 21. In 1881, he went to Chicago, where he worked for 2 years (it's presumed he worked in a restaurant.) In 1883, he began work for Pullman. He travelled between 1894 and 1897, going up to Vancouver and sailing as far as Tokyo. From 1897 to 1907 managed a private car for the United States Steel Corporation.
Over the course of his career, the people he managed a Pullman car for included American Presidents Benjamin Harrison (1889 - 1903) and Grover Cleveland (1884-1888, 1892-1896), Spanish Princess Eulalie (in 1893), Sir Henry Morton Stanley, the British explorer (of "Dr Livingston, I presume" fame), and Ignace Jan Paderewski (1860–1941), the Polish pianist and statesman.
In 1911, he published his recipe book, "Good Things to Eat, as Suggested by Rufus: A Collection Of Practical Recipes For Preparing Meats, Game, Fowl, Fish, Puddings, Pastries, Etc.", containing over 600 recipes. The book shows the two halves of his personality, varying between his southern rural roots, and the elegant, private, ultra-rich world that he became a part of. He gives recipes to use up unripened tomatoes, grapes and melons that in the late fall would otherwise perish and go to waste when the frosts came. He gives fancy recipes that draw on truffles, clearly aimed at the carriage-trade. And, he gives some simple recipes that would be enjoyed by anyone: corncakes, fritters, steamed breads, crumpets, muffins, fried corn, and fried cauliflower.
Only about 12 original copies of his books had survived by the time it was finally reprinted in 1999. The reprint edition contains 56 images from the period, that weren't actually original to the 1911 edition.
While sometimes said to be the first black cookbook author, that was probably Abby Fisher, who published her cookbook in 1881, beating Rufus by 30 years.
Abby Fisher’s cookbook, What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking, Soups, Pickles, Preserves, Etc. published in 1881, is the oldest known cookbook written by a former slave. Abby (maiden name unknown), was born in 1832, and grew up in the plantation kitchens in South Carolina. There she honed her culinary skills and became a phenomenal cook, which catapulted her to success later in life.
Abby Fisher married Alexander C. Fisher and the couple had eleven children. By the end of the Civil War she and her family gained their freedom. In 1877 the Fishers relocated from Mobile to San Francisco where her talents as a cook and caterer soon were in high demand among the city’s upper class. Her reputation and award winning delicacies enabled the Fishers to open their own business listed in the San Francisco directories as “Mrs. Abby Fisher & Company” and later as “Mrs. Abby Fisher, Pickle Manufacturer.”
Abby Fisher expertly blended African and American cultures by combining the foods and spices from two continents. Her unique dishes with their distinctive flavor represented some of the best Southern cooking of the day. At the insistence of her friends and patrons to record her “knowledge and experience of Southern cooking, pickle, and jelly making” Mrs. Fisher authored a cookbook. Since she could neither read nor write, her recipes were carefully described to writers who compiled them in the cookbook under her name.
Little is known of Fisher’s life after the publication of her cookbook. In 1984, just over one century after its initial appearance, a volume of the cookbook was rediscovered and put up for auction at Sotheby’s in New York. The cookbook was acquired by the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the Harvard University campus. In 1985 Applewood Books reprinted What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking, Soups, Pickles, Preserves, Etc., making her recipes available to a new generation of chefs and cooks.
Rufus Estes worked for the Pullman company, as a chef looking after the unimaginably luxurious private Pullman railway cars that traveled across America in the second half of the 1800s. He had worked his way up from a porter. He later became a cookbook author.
His early childhood years were caught up in the American Civil War (1861-1865.) He was born in Murray County, Tennessee, in 1857. He was given the last name of Estes, because that was the last name of the man (D.J. Estes) who owned his family. He had two younger sisters, and six older brothers (two of which died during the American civil war) making for nine children in total.
In 1867, his family moved to Nashville, Tennessee to be with his grandmother where he was able to attend one term of school, while being expect to do many chores around the household. In 1873, at the age of 16, he started working in a restaurant in Nashville, and stayed there until he was 21. In 1881, he went to Chicago, where he worked for 2 years (it's presumed he worked in a restaurant.) In 1883, he began work for Pullman. He travelled between 1894 and 1897, going up to Vancouver and sailing as far as Tokyo. From 1897 to 1907 managed a private car for the United States Steel Corporation.
Over the course of his career, the people he managed a Pullman car for included American Presidents Benjamin Harrison (1889 - 1903) and Grover Cleveland (1884-1888, 1892-1896), Spanish Princess Eulalie (in 1893), Sir Henry Morton Stanley, the British explorer (of "Dr Livingston, I presume" fame), and Ignace Jan Paderewski (1860–1941), the Polish pianist and statesman.
In 1911, he published his recipe book, "Good Things to Eat, as Suggested by Rufus: A Collection Of Practical Recipes For Preparing Meats, Game, Fowl, Fish, Puddings, Pastries, Etc.", containing over 600 recipes. The book shows the two halves of his personality, varying between his southern rural roots, and the elegant, private, ultra-rich world that he became a part of. He gives recipes to use up unripened tomatoes, grapes and melons that in the late fall would otherwise perish and go to waste when the frosts came. He gives fancy recipes that draw on truffles, clearly aimed at the carriage-trade. And, he gives some simple recipes that would be enjoyed by anyone: corncakes, fritters, steamed breads, crumpets, muffins, fried corn, and fried cauliflower.
Only about 12 original copies of his books had survived by the time it was finally reprinted in 1999. The reprint edition contains 56 images from the period, that weren't actually original to the 1911 edition.
While sometimes said to be the first black cookbook author, that was probably Abby Fisher, who published her cookbook in 1881, beating Rufus by 30 years.
Abby Fisher’s cookbook, What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking, Soups, Pickles, Preserves, Etc. published in 1881, is the oldest known cookbook written by a former slave. Abby (maiden name unknown), was born in 1832, and grew up in the plantation kitchens in South Carolina. There she honed her culinary skills and became a phenomenal cook, which catapulted her to success later in life.
Abby Fisher married Alexander C. Fisher and the couple had eleven children. By the end of the Civil War she and her family gained their freedom. In 1877 the Fishers relocated from Mobile to San Francisco where her talents as a cook and caterer soon were in high demand among the city’s upper class. Her reputation and award winning delicacies enabled the Fishers to open their own business listed in the San Francisco directories as “Mrs. Abby Fisher & Company” and later as “Mrs. Abby Fisher, Pickle Manufacturer.”
Abby Fisher expertly blended African and American cultures by combining the foods and spices from two continents. Her unique dishes with their distinctive flavor represented some of the best Southern cooking of the day. At the insistence of her friends and patrons to record her “knowledge and experience of Southern cooking, pickle, and jelly making” Mrs. Fisher authored a cookbook. Since she could neither read nor write, her recipes were carefully described to writers who compiled them in the cookbook under her name.
Little is known of Fisher’s life after the publication of her cookbook. In 1984, just over one century after its initial appearance, a volume of the cookbook was rediscovered and put up for auction at Sotheby’s in New York. The cookbook was acquired by the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the Harvard University campus. In 1985 Applewood Books reprinted What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking, Soups, Pickles, Preserves, Etc., making her recipes available to a new generation of chefs and cooks.
CULTURAL ART: ‘THE FLORIDA HIGHWAYMEN’
The Highwaymen, also referred to as the Florida Highwaymen, are a group of 26 African American landscape artists in Florida, from the mid - 1950’s until the early 1980’s. They were self-taught and worked together, and created a body of work of over 200,000 paintings, despite facing many racial and cultural barriers. The Highwaymen painted landscapes and cultural images and made a living selling them door-to-door, to businesses and individuals, throughout Florida.
The Highwaymen created large numbers of relatively inexpensive landscape paintings using construction materials rather than traditional art supplies. Because of the fact that no art galleries would accept their work, they sold them in towns and cities and along roadsides throughout Florida, often still wet, out of the trunks of their cars. Their success and longevity is remarkable considering they began their career in the racially unsettled and violent times of the 50s in Florida, and amid the social conditions of the Jim Crow South where the stirrings of the civil rights movement were only just beginning. They have been called "The Last Great American Art Movement of the 20th century".
In the 50s and 60s, it was impossible to find galleries interested in selling artworks by a group of unknown, self-taught African Americans. Instead they sold their art directly to the public rather than through galleries and art agents. Rediscovered in the mid-1990s, today they are recognized as an important part of American folk history and their fame has grown internationally.
The remaining artists in the original group (8 deceased) continue to paint to this day, more than 50 years since they first started to paint, even though most artists are now in their 70s and some nearing their 80s. Over time their style has evolved into more carefully created works and away from the original "fast painting" techniques that enabled them to produce large quantities of paintings in their early years.
Paintings by the Florida Highwaymen are prized by collectors today, but their story is about much more than art. Today their 200,000 plus paintings have gathered significant interest and have become quite collectible. At auctions some of these particular painters' works have been recognized with high prices, notably important older works by the "original" members.
The Highwaymen created large numbers of relatively inexpensive landscape paintings using construction materials rather than traditional art supplies. Because of the fact that no art galleries would accept their work, they sold them in towns and cities and along roadsides throughout Florida, often still wet, out of the trunks of their cars. Their success and longevity is remarkable considering they began their career in the racially unsettled and violent times of the 50s in Florida, and amid the social conditions of the Jim Crow South where the stirrings of the civil rights movement were only just beginning. They have been called "The Last Great American Art Movement of the 20th century".
In the 50s and 60s, it was impossible to find galleries interested in selling artworks by a group of unknown, self-taught African Americans. Instead they sold their art directly to the public rather than through galleries and art agents. Rediscovered in the mid-1990s, today they are recognized as an important part of American folk history and their fame has grown internationally.
The remaining artists in the original group (8 deceased) continue to paint to this day, more than 50 years since they first started to paint, even though most artists are now in their 70s and some nearing their 80s. Over time their style has evolved into more carefully created works and away from the original "fast painting" techniques that enabled them to produce large quantities of paintings in their early years.
Paintings by the Florida Highwaymen are prized by collectors today, but their story is about much more than art. Today their 200,000 plus paintings have gathered significant interest and have become quite collectible. At auctions some of these particular painters' works have been recognized with high prices, notably important older works by the "original" members.