SubscribeGiving thanks
Like many American families, mine is getting ready for Thanksgiving. I cherish this day. Not because I am celebrating the actual holiday (which I have very mixed feelings about since I’m part Cherokee), but because I get to see my entire family at one time.
My ancestors, like most African Americans’, did not arrive on the Mayflower. I’m well aware that the Thanksgiving feast, which every American child learns about in school, does not acknowledge that thousands of Native Americans who taught the new settlers from Europe how to survive harsh winters in New England were slaughtered and raped before the Pilgrims ever broke bread with the survivors.
So every year while I’m cooking my part of the family feast, I honor those ancestors by acknowledging their contribution to my lineage.
But on the up-side, Thanksgiving is a time for all Americans to gather with their loved ones, to celebrate love and great food. Every family has its own tradition and ours is to get together in South Orange, NJ, at either my sister Diane and her husband Bill’s or my cousins Eric and Marguerite’s homes. Our family feast started at my parents home here in Philadelphia 50 years ago. We have pot-luck, and each of us bring our own traditional dish.
Like my mixed heritage, the palates around our feast vary. Some of us eat meat and some don’t, so all of us make our side dishes to accommodate either palate.
I always take my special meatless collard greens, stuffed mushrooms (two or three types) and fish, which is usually a nice broiled salmon.
What is your family tradition? Please share your recipes and thoughts about the Thanksgiving holiday.
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