Now that Juneteenth has been established as a federal holiday and is coming up June 19, we’ve embraced the holiday in true Texan fashion — in a very big way — offering everything from more traditional festivals and pageants to more progressive yet reflective lectures and art exhibits. And most events come with various delicious and traditional menus.
Like many holidays, Juneteenth revolves around food, elaborate programs, pageants, rodeos, parades, and sometimes carnivals. It’s a spectacular tradition of celebration that has been observed annually by most.
The old-fashioned foods eaten at this largely outdoor gathering have not changed much from 1866, when the first celebrations took place, to now. They always include barbecue, fried chicken, tea cakes, red liquor or whiskey aged in barrels, soda and lemonade, and a host of other delicious foods. Fruits are also abundant: Strawberries snuggly folded into hand pie crusts, ripe and juicy sliced wedges of watermelons with a dash of salt.
In my family, the tea cake was perfected by my grandmother, and that torch has been passed to my mother, Georgia. In keeping with the period that the cookies were first created, not many ingredients are required. Remember, things like butter and sugar were considered luxury goods in the 1800s, thus making them difficult to find. These cookies require fat (we always use a butter-flavored lard in our family) and very small amounts of buttermilk, sugar, egg and leavening agents.
I share my stories through cooking, and everything I make always has a story behind it. Last year (prior to the Walmart Juneteenth ice cream debacle), I decided to do a spin on desserts we enjoyed during the summertime months with family at Juneteenth and other holidays.
I created this “Ode to Juneteenth” ice cream as a celebration of my 5th generation Texas roots and as a love letter to my family. I hope you guys enjoy this deceptively easy no-churn ice cream with roasted strawberries for an intense yet complex flavor, candied Texas pecans as homage to the state, and our beloved crumbled tea cake. No ice cream maker required! You just need a hand mixer or stand mixer. (See recipe below.)
Juneteenth history
Since Juneteenth has become a federal holiday and newcomers are anxious to embrace this longstanding Black Texas tradition, there’s still a lack of understanding of what the holiday actually is.
It’s often incorrectly labeled as the “day all enslaved in America were free.” Not only is this inaccurate, but it does terrible harm in the long run, as it erases the true history of this symbolic date. Black Texans have a very unique culture, and Juneteenth celebrations and all of the pomposity that they entail are a special part of that.
My own youthful observances of this day are tied to fond memories spent reciting poems, loudly singing the classic National Negro Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” — mandatory in Southern Black families — and gathering with my family to eat delicious spreads of barbecue while drinking a spicy Big Red pop. To strip us away of this traditional inheritance is akin to erasure of our individuality. To understand this specific occasion that is unique to Black Texans and to have a deeper more meaningful understanding of its significance to our families, requires us to travel back in time to 1865.
On June 18, 1865, one day prior to the momentous day known as Juneteenth, U.S. Army Gen. Gordon Granger and some 2,000-plus African American soldiers landed on the shores of Galveston, Texas. At this time the island was a major port city, making it not only the largest city in Texas, but also one of the most visited places due to the island’s fortunes made as a major export hub for cotton. When they arrived, Granger swiftly set up camp at Ashton Villa, which was then briefly used as Union headquarters. They went to a local printing company and had several copies made of the now infamous Order #3. Granger’s words in the document would inform the enslaved men and women of their freedom.
This was incredibly bittersweet, because although they were technically being liberated, Granger was very specific about what this would mean. And it did not mean total bodily autonomy. He requested that the enslaved were not to “linger” in the streets because strict vagrancy laws would be enforced to prevent the formerly enslaved from being lackadaisical. If Granger’s rule of not allowing loitering on the streets sounds familiar, it’s because this was foreshadowing of the impending Black Codes and the later Jim Crow Laws.
Today, one of the only known copies of the official orders in existence is right here in Dallas at the Dallas Historical Society at the Hall of State Museum at Fair Park, which also holds special significance in Juneteenth history. Fair Park was once one of the three known locations formerly enslaved men and women would gather a year after Juneteenth to celebrate their freedom. Another gathering location was the Freedman community still in existence today, Joppa, which will be celebrating their 150th anniversary this year, on Saturday, June 18, 2022, at noon.
Juneteenth is known by many different names, among them Freedom Day, Emancipation Day, Jubilee Day, to name a few. Each of the names leads back to the same historic description: it pays tribute to the day enslaved African Americans residing in Texas were emancipated. A recent trip to Galveston reveals that although Gen. Granger led the African American troops to deliver the message of liberation, there is no actual proof that Granger personally addressed the crowds on the steps of the famed Ashton Villa, which was then headquarters for the Union troops.
Instead, most likely, it was the Black soldiers who marched around town delivering the messages to all who would listen while carefully tacking up numerous copies of Order #3 on nearby trees and posts.
Since the first celebrations began springing up all over Texas in 1866, Dallas and Fort Worth have celebrated in many ways. An archived interview with the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” Dr. Opal Lee, reveals her reflections of this momentous holiday.
Common Juneteenth myths and misconceptions:
* Juneteenth is not the oldest Emancipation Day that’s been celebrated. The record goes to Gallipolis, Ohio, which began celebrating in 1863.
* The Juneteenth Order #3 document did not free all the slaves in America. The Emancipation Proclamation only freed what Lincoln wrote as the “rebellious” states. Two states, Kentucky and Delaware, continued enforcing slavery (legally), and this practice was not ended until the ratification of the 13th Amendment in December 1865.
* The state of Texas was wildly unregulated at the time. Some wealthy enslavers were well aware of this, and purposefully packed up and moved to Texas to avoid freeing their enslaved peoples after the Emancipation Proclamation was read on January 1, 1863. It is offensive to assume that because Texas’ enslaved population was not aware, that this was somehow tied to their intelligence or inability to understand the laws of this day. Even those who were aware of the Proclamation would not have had the capacity to liberate themselves without grave consequences.
Ode to Juneteenth No-Churn Ice Cream
This is an extremely forgiving and adaptable recipe. Use the base and have some fun with different ingredients! I wanted to add basil initially because it pairs well with strawberries, but at the last minute the spirit of my ancestors told me this is what they would have wanted, and so I obliged. Lastly, I was afraid mine would get too cold, so I wrapped my entire 9×5 dish in cling wrap, then placed inside a freezer bag, then wrapped that in foil. I’m not sure if it was overkill or not, but I was happy with the results.
2 cups strawberries (stems removed)
1 to 1 1/2 cups candied pecans (store-bought or easy recipe here)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 can condensed milk
About 4-5 crushed tea cakes (or shortbread cookies)
Divide strawberries and place approximately 1 cup (or a handful) in oven with a drizzle of olive oil and bake at 350 F for 15-20 minutes. Take the remaining 1 cup of strawberries and chop or dice and place in separate container.
When the roasted strawberries are sizzling, have started releasing their juices, and smell fragrant, remove from oven and puree on high in blender until smooth. Set aside.
Beat the heavy whipping cream in a mixer until stiff peaks form. Very gently. fold in condensed milk and pureed strawberries to whipped cream. Add candied pecans and crushed tea cakes.
Pour mixture into a container (I used a 9×5 dish) and leave it in the freezer for about 6 hours.
Eat in a cone or bowl!
